


Blood for Blood

by RegalGirl94



Series: Blood [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-02 02:28:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 94,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17879363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegalGirl94/pseuds/RegalGirl94
Summary: Jessie had finally unlocked her full vampire side, but not without a cost. Leaving Beacon Hills left her friends to deal with the dark marks on their souls after defeating the Darach and Alpha Pack, and to deal with a threat unlike any they've ever overcome before. Will Jessie return, and if so, will she return as the Jessie they all remember?





	1. Wake Up

**Author's Note:**

> Fourth in the series, based on season 3B.  
> Here's the trailer;   
> https://vimeo.com/223534076

Stiles laid in his bed, face contorting in fear and pain as he mumbled, "No, no, no, no, no—Don't let them in. Don't let them in. No, don't let them in."

He opened his eyes, realizing he wasn't in bed, but in a locker. He peered through the slits of the metal door before tossing it open, walking out into the hallway of his high school. He stepped through the hallway until he came upon an open classroom door. He walked in, feeling fear in his heart, as he noticed the large stump of the Nemeton sitting in the ravaged classroom where Sonia had faced off with Jennifer before the Darrach took his dad.

He stepped closer and closer, reaching his hand out. Suddenly, vines reached up from the cracks in the stump and wrapped themselves in a vice-like grip around his wrist. He let out a yell and shot up into a sitting position, panting, awake.

"You okay?" he heard Lydia's voice as she slowly sat up in bed next to him. "Stiles?"

Stiles slowly exhaled to calm down, "Yeah, I was just dreaming. It was weird. It was like a dream within a dream."

"A nightmare," Lydia summarized, rubbing her hands soothingly over his shoulders and back.

He nodded, "Yeah," take her hand on his knee. He paused, squeezing her hand as he looked at her in deep confusion, "Wait a second, Lydia. What are you doing here?"

She couldn't answer before they heard a loud door creak. Stiles looked over and saw a door that wasn't supposed to be there. "Hang on," he slowly stood up from bed and stepped closer to the door.

"Stiles, where are you going?" Lydia asked him.

"I'm just gonna close the door," Stiles whispered back to her.

Lydia seemed to get more and more distraught the closer to he got to the door, "Just go back to sleep."

"No, no, I should close it," he mumbled.

"Don't worry about it," Lydia said sternly.

"What if someone comes in?" he asked her distractedly.

"Like who?" she whined. "Just go back to sleep, Stiles."

Whispers started hissing from the darkness behind the door the closer he approached it. Lydia started breathing faster in fear as he started to reach for the doorknob, "No."

"But what if they get in?" Stiles asked her.

"What if who gets in?" Lydia asked shrilly. "Stiles, just leave it. Please. Stiles. Stiles, come back to bed. Stiles. Please."

He ignored her, reaching for the doorknob.

Lydia got more and more upset, "Don't, Stiles. Don't! Don't go in there, please, don't. Please, Stiles, don't!"

But he pulled the door open, walking in, drowning out Lydia's cries.

It was dark for a moment but he kept walking, the whispers growing louder like a roaring wind. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest. Suddenly, bright sports style lights lit up an open wooded area, the Nemeton right in the middle of it.

The wind slapped his body from all directions. He started to hyperventilate, "It's a dream. This is just a dream. It's just a dream, get it out of your head, Stiles." He tried slapping himself, "You're dreaming. All right? So, wake up, Stiles." He pressed his hands to the side of his head, trying to focus, "Wake up, Stiles. WAKE UP!"

Stiles, once again, shot up into a sitting position in his bed, awake. He door opened and his father poked his head in, "Hey, time to get up, kiddo. Get your butt to school."

Stiles slowly exhaled, heaving breath from his body.

"And you couldn't wake up?" Scott asked as he and Stiles walked towards the school to their first class.

"Nope, and it was beyond terrifying," Stiles told him. "You ever hear of sleep paralysis?"

"Uh, no, do I want to?" Scott asked him, shouldering his backpack.

"Have you ever had a dream where you feel like you're about to wake up but you can't move or talk?" Stiles asked him hypothetically.

"Yeah, yeah, I've had that," Scott answered.

"It happens because during REM sleep your body is basically paralyzed," Stiles explained. "It's called muscle atonia. That way if you start dreaming about running, you don't actually start running in your bed."

"That makes sense," Scott commented.

"But sometimes your mind can wake up before your body does," Stiles added. "So, for this split second, you're actually aware that your body is paralyzed."

"And that's the terrifying part," Scott guessed as they walked into the high school and towards their class.

"It turns your dream into a nightmare," Stiles shuddered. "You can feel like you're falling, like you're being strangled, or, in my case, like you're at the center of a grove of magical trees where human sacrifices took place."

"You think it means something?" Scott asked, kind of knowing the answer.

Stiles nodded, "What if what we did that night—what if it's still affecting us?"

"Post-traumatic stress?" Scott asked a little skeptical.

Stiles shrugged, "Or something."

They walked into class and took their seats. Stiles leaned his elbows on the desk and sighed, "But you want to know what scares me the most?"

Scott looked at him, seeing his friend was really distressed.

"I'm not even sure this is real."

Stiles shot up in bed, screaming loudly. Georgie had been sleeping next to him, but she was forced off the bed from his flailing limbs. She groaned from the impact she felt when she fell on the floor but shot up to a standing position as the Sheriff ran into the room to grab his son in his arms, and hold him still.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay," he tried to shush his son's screaming and crying. "It's okay. You're okay."

* * *

Scott slipped on a button-up over his black tank-top and grabbed his backpack. He paused when he noticed something different with his shadow in the door. The claws were extended in his left hand. But when he looked back at his actual hand, no claws. He looked back at the shadow and it was normal.

"Weird, huh?" he heard a voice. He jumped, turning around to see Jessie sitting on his bed. She looked dark and dirty, and bloody. That's when he noticed the sharp piece of wood that killed her was still sticking out of her chest. It was a talking version of her when she died that night.

"What the hell!?" he shouted, his eyes widening.

"Come on, Scott," 'Jessie' drawled. "We both know this isn't the first time you've seen me in the last month."

"Those were dreams," he muttered, his mind flashing to his nightmares.

_The Darrach, in her real scarred face and wrapped in ripped pieces of a black dress, was gunning for Scott, to get him out of the way but Jessie stood in front of her best friend. He gave her an incredulous look as the vampire held up her hands and thrust them towards the Darrach, propelling her back a few feet._

_She roared loudly, thrusting her hands towards Jessie. The girl held her hands up, a brief pale blue force field deflecting the blow, but it sent her stumbling._

_Scott quickly got up behind Jessie and caught her before she fell, holding her up. Jessie groaned as she stood up on her own two feet. The Darrach shrieked, throwing her hands up again while they were focused on each other and threw them back into the pile of crates and tired in the back of the warehouse._

" _Derek!" and they raced towards Jessie. Scott kneeled over her and brushed her hair back, "Jessie, wake up!"_

_She blinked her eyes opened tiredly, "I'm sorry, Scott. I'm so sorry."_

" _What happened—you weren't that hurt, were you?" he asked frantically, looking for any wounds._

_She sluggishly pulled her jacket away from where she held it over her abdomen, revealing a thick piece of wood from the crate sticking out from her chest where it stabbed through her._

"But they were also real," Jessie commented, tilting her head. "You're still feeling guilty over my death."

"You're not dead," Scott whispered, reassuring himself.

"But I'm still gone," she told him softly.

Suddenly, there was a knock at his bedroom door. He turned around to open it and saw Isaac, "Hey, who are you talking to?"

Scott looked back to his bed to see it empty. He looked back at Isaac and shook his head, "No one. You going to school?"

"Yeah, you?" Isaac asked slowly, a little skeptical at Scott's answer.

"Yeah," Scott told him. "Let's go."

* * *

Stiles gathered his stuff when he picked up his history text book and noticed something. The letters on the cover were all mixed up, practically unreadable. He squinted his eyes and blinked but they didn't change. He heard his bathroom door open and saw his girlfriend walk out, all ready for school.

The Sheriff poked his head into the room, carrying a box, "Hey. You all right? You ready for school?"

Stiles looked back at book, noticing he could read the title, 'Allies and the Axis' and shoved it into his backpack, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good."

He noticed both Georgie and his dad giving him worried looks. He sighed, "Guys, seriously, I'm fine. It was just a nightmare." He noticed the box his dad was carrying and asked, "What's that?"

"That's just, uh, files from the office," the Sheriff excused it as nothing.

"It says 'Sheriff's station, do not remove,'" Stiles pointed out.

He peered at the label and shrugged it off, "Well, yeah, unless you're the Sheriff."

"Oh," Stiles hummed.

"Now, get your butts to school, all right?" The Sheriff commanded friendily.

* * *

Scott rode in on his bike and parked at the front of the school. He lifted off his helmet and stopped short when he noticed his eyes were Alpha-red in his reflection. He blinked, shaking his head, and saw his eyes were normal when he looked again. He got off of his bike and started walking to class when he noticed Jessie standing in front of him.

He noticed she wasn't covered in dirt and blood. She was dressed exactly as she was the day he first met her.

_He had been working on some labels when he heard someone call out, "Hello?" He paused and called back, "Just a minute!" He walked out to the front lobby, seeing a pretty girl dressed in a floral shirt, brown pants and darker brown jacket, "Can I help you?"_

_She fiddled with her hands awkwardly, "Yeah, I umm... was just here about the receptionist job. A friend of my dad's tipped me onto it."_

" _Are you Mr. Hansen's daughter?" He asked curiously to which she nodded. He smiled friendily, "I'm Scott. My mom is your dad's friend. Give me a sec and I can get my boss for you."_

" _Great, thanks," she smiled, the first smile he'd ever see on her._

"You're not really here," Scott stated sternly, mostly assuring himself of that truth.

She nodded, "No, I'm not. But that doesn't really matter. You're stuck with me until you get me out of your head." Scott tried to ignore her and kept walking to class but she followed him. "Scott, you know I'm right. You'll keep seeing me until you work out your messed up head and figure out why you're hallucinating about me—as well as you're inner wolf."

"What?" he spun on her. "What are you talking about? You're just a figment of my imagination."

She narrowed her eyes playfully at him, "That would work if I was some cracked up Easter Bunny offering you egg shaped grenades or something. But I'm me, your best friend that you watched die for you right before your eyes. I'm real, whether or not I'm really here."

"You're not here, you're not real, you're gone—gone!" he almost shouted.

"Whoa, hey," he heard Stiles behind him, spinning to see his best friend and his girlfriend. "Hey, you all right? You don't look all right, Scott."

"I'm okay," Scott assured him, turning to see his vision of Jessie had disappeared.

Stiles looked to where Scott was looking and saw nothing, "No, you're not. It's happening to you too. You're seeing things, aren't you?"

"How'd you know?" Scott asked, shocked.

Lydia walked up to them, Allison trudging behind her, "Because it's happening to all three of you."

* * *

A young girl with long light brown hair and brown eyes sighed from the passengers seat of her older sister's car, "Did we really have to move again? I liked Hartford."

"Jody had everything covered there and if all goes haywire again she'll call the Winchesters," her sister told her. "This place is about to be crawling with supernatural pests and we need to be here to exterminate them."

"Why can't we just pick a place and stay there?" the younger girl whined as the car pulled over in front of Beacon Hills High School. "I'd like to make friends for once."

"Make as many friends as you want, Nuala," her older sister allowed. "Just don't get attached."

Nuala rolled her eyes, getting out of the car, "See you, Dechtire."

The young girl walked through the campus, looking around for some building labeled the office so she could pick up her schedule. But the large campus was practically a maze to her, just as all the campuses she'd been to were. She was walking down some stairs when she bumped into a body and nearly fell over. The person she bumped into caught her by her elbows and stopped her from falling on her ass though.

"Hey, you okay?" the male voice asked. "Sorry about that."

She looked up to see a pretty cute looking pale boy with curly brown hair. She shook her head, "No, I'm fine. It was my fault."

"I was pretty distracted," he muttered.

"So was I," she commented. "I'm so lost, I'm actually looking for the office?"

"Oh," he hummed, pointing over down another set of steps into a building with large letters spelling out 'OFFICE' and murmuring, "It's right there."

Nuala blushed bright red, "Of course it is." She shouldered her tattered backpack and nodded to the boy. "Thanks for your help. See you around."

"Sure," he agreed noncommittally and walked off with a wave. Nuala walked off towards the office and let herself in through the door. She smiled at the older lady behind the desk, "Hi, I'm Nuala Darcy. I'm here for my school schedule."

"Oh, yes, right away," the lady answered her, fluttering over to a folder she had ready on her desk. She pulled her glasses from their chain around her neck and put them on, peering at the papers she had, "Noo-walla B. Darcy."

"Actually, it's Nuala – like noo-la," she corrected. "It's short for Fionnuala but I just like Nuala."

"It's a lovely name, dear," the lady commented. "Here's your schedule, and a map of the campus. We've got some really good kids here so don't be afraid to ask for help finding your way around."

Nuala just nodded and excused herself so she'd get to class on time.

* * *

Lydia opened the doors into the school with Scott, Stiles, Allison and Georgie walking in behind her. She practically strut, smug in her speech, "Well, well, look who's no longer the crazy one."

"We're  _not_  crazy," Allison insisted.

Lydia spun to face them, lips pursed in thought, "Hallucinating? Sleep paralysis? Yeah, you guys are  _fine_."

"We did die and come back to life," Scott pointed out to them. "That's gotta have some side effects, right?"

The bell rang above them and Stiles launched a plan, "We keep an eye on each other. Okay?" He leaned down to kiss Georgie goodbye.

"Have fun in class," she told him, walking off to her own class.

"I will," he told her, before walking towards their history class. "And Lydia, stop enjoying this so much."

She played dumb, "What?"

* * *

Scott and Stiles made their way into their history class, taking their seats along with all their classmates. A middle-aged Asian man finished writing something on the black board and turned to the class with a smile, "Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Yukimura. I'll be taking over for your previous History teacher. My family and I moved here three weeks ago. I'm sure, by now, you all know my daughter, Kira. Or you might not since she's never actually mentioned anyone from school. Or brought a friend home for that matter."

There was a loud exasperated groan and thump as a girl seated in the back of the room let her head fall to the desk in embarrassment.

"Either way," Mr. Yukimura continued as the group of kids all looked back at the girl. "There she is."

The girl sluggishly lifted her head and smiled awkwardly, utterly humiliated.

"Wow, that's rough," Scott jumped at Jessie's voice in the seat next to him. He tried to act as normal as possible and not react to her.

The teacher proceeded with the lesson, "Now, let's begin with American History at the turn of the 20th century."

* * *

Nuala made her way into an Art class, bustling nervously. She went up to talk to the teacher and make sure she was in the right place.

"Yes, this is the beginning art class, go ahead and take a seat at any empty easel," the teacher told her nicely. "The assignment today is to paint something you've dreamt."

She awkwardly made to walk to an empty easel, there were many as class had just started. Kids were grouped together, most of them being friends for most of their lives in this small town. She was the new girl, the loner. She sat herself at an empty easel, both empty on either side of her. She noticed kids start to sit at the easels on the other side of the room and instantly regretted her choice. She wanted to make friends, but maybe subconsciously she knew it was a bad idea.

"You again," she heard a voice next to her.

Startled, she looked over to see the same boy she bumped into earlier. She blushed, "Yeah, I guess."

"I guess I should get your name now, since I'll be seeing you around," he commented, taking a seat next to her.

"It's Nuala," she said softly.

"That's a pretty strange name," he drawled, getting his paints ready.

She took a page from his book and hastily got her paints ready too, "It's Irish. Are you ever gonna give me your name?"

"It's Isaac," he answered. He seemed a little distracted, looking over at a couple girls talking quietly on the other side of the room.

Nuala followed his vision and saw a pretty red head girl and pretty dark haired girl. She figured Isaac was busy ogling them so she simply went back to her painting, dipping the brush into some green and getting to work.

* * *

Stiles and Scott made their way to their lockers. Scott heaved out a breath, "Maybe we need a little more time to get back to normal."

"Yeah, try not to forget we hit the reset button on a supernatural beacon for supernatural creatures," Stiles replied sarcastically, putting in his combination just on instinct. "There's a pretty good chance things are never going back to normal."

He went to pull his locker open but the lock was still locked. He looked down to make sure he put in the right number, but it was just wonky symbols on the lock instead of the right numbers. He blinked his eyes until the lock displayed coherent numbers.

Scott, meanwhile, was distracted by Jessie standing in front of him, between him and Stiles. She leaned against the lockers, "He's right, you know. They'll be coming. That's why I sent you the bestiary."

"Wait, what?" Scott asked her, momentarily forgetting himself.

Stiles gave him a curious look as he finally got his locker open, "Dude, where have you been?"

Jessie had his attention though, "That's right. I know what turning Beacon Hills into an actual beacon means, Scott. They'll be coming—there'll be a lot of them and you'll need all the help you can get."

Scott looked fiercely at her, "Then why don't you come back?"

"Who are you talking to?" Stiles asked his friend exasperatedly.

Scott jolted as Jessie disappeared and looked back at Stiles, "No one."

"Dude, your eyes," Stiles muttered in panic.

"What about them?" Scott asked, not getting it.

Stiles looked around the hallway frantically, "They're starting to glow."

Scott's eyes widened, "You mean like right now?"

" _Yes_ , right now," Stiles repeated. "Scott, stop. Stop it."

Scott tried, the effort it took making him lose his breath, "I can't—I can't control it."

Stiles tried to think quickly, "All right, just keep your head down." He threw his arms over Scott's head, making him lean down and leading him off to a classroom, "Look down, come on. Keep your head down."

Scott pushed Stiles away from him once they were inside the empty classroom, practically falling over himself, claws slipping out of his hands. "Get back, away from me," he growled.

"Scott, it's okay," Stiles assured him.

Scott felt his teeth elongate as his transformation became almost inevitable, "I don't know what's going to happen. Get back."

He stumbled past some desks before he held out his arms and stuck his claws into the palms of his hands, grunting at the pain. Blood dripped down his hands and forearms as his nails dug deeper into his skin. He fell to his knees and slipped back into human form, panting from the ordeal, "Pain makes you human."

Stiles crouched in front of his best friend worriedly, "Scott, this isn't just in our heads. This is real. And it's starting to get bad for me too. I'm not just having nightmares. I'm having dreams where I have to literally scream myself awake. I almost hurt Georgie last night because I'm waking up violent and screaming. And sometimes I'm not even sure if I'm actually ever waking up."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked almost tiredly.

"Do you know how you can tell if you're dreaming?" Stiles asked rhetorically. "You can't read in dreams. More and more, the past few days, I've been having trouble reading. It's like I can't see the words. I can't put the letters in order."

"Like even now?" Scott asked, surprised.

Stiles sighed, standing up and peering at the black board. All the writing was just gibberish. He looked at all the educational posters around the room, not being able to make any sense of the writing on them. He whimpered almost, "I can't read a thing."


	2. Bardo

"Right at her head?" Scott questioned as Isaac told him about Allison almost shooting Lydia in the face in the woods with an arrow.

"Almost right through it," Isaac confirmed. "And she keeps saying the same thing, that she keeps seeing her aunt. Whatever's happening to you guys is getting worse. If I hadn't been there, then Lydia would be dead."

Scott paused, "What were you doing there?"

"In art this morning I noticed Allison shaking, pretty badly," Isaac said. "And she and Lydia made off with the bow and arrows, I followed."

"Right."

"Right," Jessie's voice was heard from the cushioned chair in the corner. "He's probably getting over me by getting on Allison—or Lydia."

Scott looked over at her in disgust, "Shut up."

"Come on, Scott, I'm just kidding," she flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "You know I still love Isaac on some level. And that he still loves me. And he'd never go for Allison. You're his best friend now, hell he's living in your house. He wouldn't do that to you. But be honest with yourself... would it really bother you all that much?"

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked her.

"Who are you talking to?" Isaac asked but he went un-heard.

"The great Allison and Scott love story was the center of this whole... saga," Jessie started to explain. "You loved her  _so_  much, she was your anchor, your encouragement. Everything you did, everyone you saved... it was all for her. And then you lost her. And fighting to get her back became your new reason to do the right thing and eventually become an Alpha without having to kill anyone for it." She paused, standing up to sit on the bed next to him, "And you need that reason. You need that definition of yourself that you found in her just like Isaac needed the definition I gave him. And you're both so afraid to let us go because you're afraid you'll lose your reason for being. You're afraid to admit that maybe you don't love us the same anymore. That maybe you don't need Allison, you don't ache for her, the way you used to."

"That's..." he started to say but he couldn't find any words to say back to her.

"Scott," Isaac's voice finally broke through as Jessie's figment disappeared. Scott nearly jumped and looked at his friend. Isaac was giving him an expectant look, "What the hell was that?"

* * *

Stiles walked into the Sheriff's station with a glass vase full of flowers. He dropped Georgie off at home and prepared to visit his mother's grave with his father. He set the flowers down on his father's desk, "You know, the last time we bought one of these to her grave, it was stolen the same day. Hundred bucks down the drain." He paused when he noticed his dad wasn't seated at his desk, "Hey, Dad?" He peered around it to see his dad sitting on the floor, surrounded by piles of paper, file folders and boxes all labeled 'SHERIFF'S STATION DON'T REMOVE' full of more files. "Hi, what are you doing down there?"

"Working," was the gruff reply he got. "And hey, if somebody wants the flowers that badly, they can have them. It's the gesture."

"Hey, dad, what is all this?" Stiles asked, crouching down.

"I've been looking over some old cases from a more...  _illuminated_  perspective, if you know what I mean," his father explained.

Stiles picked up a file and idly read the top description, "Strange sighting of bipedal lizard man sprinting across freeway."

The Sheriff pointed to a certain pile of files, "Kanima pile."

Stiles dropped it on the pile, "Dad, you're not going back through all your old cases seeing if any of them had something to do with the supernatural, are you?"

He paused reluctant to admit it, "I admit the recent opening of my eyes to the greater mysteries of the universe has got me reassessing. There's at least 100 cases here where I look at the details and I can ask myself, 'If I knew then what I know now.'"

"Right, but are you sure you wanna go down that path?" Stiles asked, worried that his father was going to drive himself insane questioning everything in his line of work now because of the supernatural things in the world.

The sheriff looked at him seriously, "Do I have a choice?" He paused, scratching his chin as he picked up one file, "There's one case in particular that I can't get out of my head. Eight years ago, I was elected Sheriff of County, my first official duty was to tell a man that not only had his wife and two kids died in a car accident, but, as best we could tell, the body of his nine year old daughter had been dragged from the wreck by coyotes."

"You mean dragged and eaten?" Stiles confirmed.

The Sheriff paused, not being able to really answer definitively, "We didn't find the car until three days after the crash. They had driven off the road into a pretty deep ravine. Two bodies that were still in the car were covered in bites and slashes."

Stiles sighed, "So, you're thinking bites and claw marks, probably a werewolf attack?"

"Maybe," the Sheriff admitted.

"But coyotes, they scavenge, right?" Stiles thought out loud. "So, couldn't they have just left he bites and the slashes?"

The Sheriff nodded, "Absolutely. But guess what night the accident occurred on?" He handed his son the file and pointed it out.

"The night of a full moon," Stiles read, thinking 'of course' in his head.

"Yeah," the Sheriff stated.

Stiles looked around at all the files and boxes being pulled, "Hey, Dad, where are all these going?" He noticed one box was labeled with a new looking label that read, 'Agent McCall.'

"Yeah," his dad muttered hesitantly. "We, uh, we probably need to talk about that."

* * *

The bell rang as Stiles skipped into Coach's class. He went to his normal seat in the front but a girl was already sitting there. "Hi, sorry, I usually sit there." She stared at him blankly and started to sign. He grew embarrassed, "Okay, no problem. That's all yours." He cleared his throat and walked over to an empty seat.

He began to unpack his notebook when he noticed that everyone in class was staring blankly at the front of the classroom, "That's weird." He looked to the front of the classroom and saw Coach Finstock staring blankly out from the front of the room, "Hey, Coach. Thought I was in the wrong class for a second."

Coach didn't say anything back, instead starting to sign.

"Um, okay," Stiles replied, utterly confused. "I don't actually know sign language... actually, I didn't even know that you—knew sign language. Or that that was even an elective here." Coach continued to sign the same sequence over and over again.

Stiles awkwardly stood up with his stuff, "Well, this has been good, I'm probably gonna, uh, head out..." He made his way for the door, slowly facing the class as they all began to sign the exact same thing over and over and over again. He began to hyperventilate as a sonic whistle rang in his ears, almost deafening him.

Coach's whistle filled his ears as he jolted in his desk. Coach glared at him, "Stilinski!"

"Huh?" Stiles answered intelligibly.

"I asked you a question," Coach snarled.

"Uh, sorry Coach," Stiles mumbled. "What was it?"

Coach regarded him sarcastically, "It was 'Stilinski, are you paying attention back there?'"

Stiles flushed, "Oh. Well, I am now."

Coach rolled his eyes, "Stilinski, stop reminding me why I drink... every night. Does anybody else want to try question on the board?"

Stiles looked over to his left to see Georgie and Scott looking at him with worried expressions. He tried to ease their concerns, "I'm okay. I just fell asleep for a second."

Georgie and Scott grew even more worried as they exchanged looks. Scott swallowed, "Dude. You weren't asleep."

* * *

Scott sat outside with the pack, Stiles and Georgie next to him and Isaac, Allison and Lydia sitting across from them. "So, we've all been seeing things?"

"Allison keeps seeing her Aunt," Lydia pursed her lips. "Almost took my head off thinking I was Kate."

"I said I was sorry," Allison repeated.

"I'm just straight up seeing things," Stiles shrugged.

"I'm more worried about what Scott has been seeing," Isaac stated, giving Scott a look that said 'come clean.'

Everyone turned to Scott. "What have you been seeing?" Stiles asked.

Scott opened and closed his mouth a couple times, searching for something to say, "I've uh... been seeing... Jessie."

"Jessie?" Allison gaped. "As in she's back?"

"As in a hallucination," Lydia quipped. "You've been seeing her in... memories?"

"No, no, just her," Scott explained. "She appears out of nowhere and... talks to me."

"Does she tell you to do things or something?" Stiles asked.

"He's not a schizophrenic, Stiles," Georgie admonished. She paused and leaned forward to look at Scott, "She doesn't, does she?"

"No," he assured them. "She just talks to me. But it's always a different version of her. At first it was her the day she died..." he paused, looking at Isaac whose eyes had drifted down to the table, "then it was her the day we met, the day she came into Deaton's looking for a job. Today, I saw her dressed like the day we all had dinner at her house when her family first moved here. But she always says I need to fix my messed up mind in order to stop seeing her."

"This is so weird," Georgie commented.

"Okay," Scott spoke, getting straight to business. "So, what happens to a person who has a near-death experience and comes out of it seeing things like mirages of their best friend?"

"And is unable to tell what's real or not?" Stiles added.

"And is being haunted by demonic visions of dead relatives?" Allison tacked on.

"They're all locked up because they're insane," Isaac contributed.

Stiles regarded him sarcastically, "Ha. Can you at least try to be helpful, please?"

"For half my childhood, I was locked in a freezer," Isaac told him. "So, being helpful is kind of a new thing for me."

Stiles narrowed his eyes at him, "Hey, dude, are you still milking that?"

"Yeah, I am still milking that," Isaac replied.

They were interrupted by the shy new girl approaching them, "Hi." The group stopped talking and all looked at her. "Hi, sorry. I couldn't help overhearing what you guys were talking about. And I think I actually might know what you're talking about. There's a Tibetan word for it. It's called 'Bardo.' It literally means 'in-between state.' The state between life and death."

"And what do they call you?" Lydia asked her, somewhat guarded.

"This is Kira," Georgie introduced. "She's new here." The girl scooted over and let Kira sit next to her.

"So, are you talking Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?" Lydia asked, flaunting her smarts.

Kira shrugged, "Either, I guess. But all the stuff you guys were just saying? All that happens in Bardo. There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations. Some you see, some you just hear. And you can be visited by peaceful and wrathful deities."

"Wrathful deities?" Isaac repeated. "And what are those?"

"Like demons," Kira smiled.

"Demons," Stiles stated. "Why not?"

"Hold on," Allison paused, pursing her lips in thought, "if there are different progressive states, then what's the last one?"

"Death," Kira answered, "you die."

The group all exchanged worried glances.

* * *

"It sounds like your subconscious is trying to communicate with you," Deaton told Stiles and Scott as he led them into the clinic.

"Well, how do I tell my subconscious to use a language that I actually know?" Stiles replied sarcastically.

"Do you remember what the sign language looked like?" Deaton asked thoughtfully. "The placement and movement of the hands?"

"You know sign language?" Scott asked in mild-awe.

Deaton shrugged, "I know a little. Let me give it a shot."

"Okay, the first one was like this," Stiles demonstrated the first move, "then," and the one it was connected to.

"That's 'when,'" Deaton read.

"Then there was this," he showed, "twice."

"That's door," Deaton continued.

"And this in between it," Stiles brushed his thumb from under his chin.

"That's it?" Deaton asked, puzzled.

"Yeah," Stiles shrugged.

"'When is a door not a door?'" Deaton translated.

"'When is a door not a door?'" Stiles repeated incredulously.

Scott answered, "When it's ajar."

"You're kidding me," Stiles expressed. "A riddle? My subconscious wants to tell me a riddle?"

"Not necessarily," Deaton hedged. "When the three of you went under the water, when you crossed from unconsciousness to a kind of super-consciousness—you essentially opened a door in your minds."

"Bingo," Jessie sang, lifting herself up to sit on the table behind Deaton. Scott finally looked at her, since ignoring her obviously wasn't going to make her go away. She was all dressed up in a red dress, black leather jacket and black studded healed boots. He noticed it was exactly what she wore the night they all crashed Lydia's big party. His first date with Allison.

"So, what does that mean?" he asked Deaton. "The door's still open?"

"Ajar," Deaton repeated.

"A door into our minds?" Stiles tried to understand.

"I did tell you it was risky," Deaton excused.

"What do we do about it?" Scott asked desperately.

"Well, that's difficult to answer," Deaton claimed.

Stiles paused, giving him a skeptical look, "Oh, no, wait a second, I know that look. That's the 'we know exactly what's wrong with you, but we have no idea how to fix it' look."

Deaton nodded, "One thing I do know is that having an opening like that into your mind, it's not good. You each need to close that door. And you need to do it as soon as possible."

"Yep," Jessie popped the 'P' from her perch on the table. "You need to close that door in your head, Scott. Only then will you stop seeing me. But do you really want it to stop?"

* * *

Stiles and Scott made their way out the front door of the clinic when they heard a car approaching, turning to see the Sheriff's cruiser driving up and parking. "Dad, what are you doing here?" Stiles asked his father.

"I'm here because I could use some help," the man answered, pointing at Scott. "Actually—your help."

"Why me?" Scott questioned.

"Because eight years ago, almost an entire family died in a car accident," the Sheriff regurgitated. "One of the bodies, a young girl named Malia, was never found. There's enough evidence to have me thinking that a werewolf could have caused the accident, and then dragged her body away. If you could somehow get a lock on her scent if you could somehow help me find her body, it might provide the missing clue."

Stiles frowned, "But what if it was a werewolf?"

The Sheriff tilted his head, "Well, there's somebody out there who murdered an entire family. Someone who still needs to be caught."

* * *

"Why are we going to a hunter's house again?" Isaac asked from the backseat of Allison's car.

"We haven't seen Emily in almost a week," Allison answered patiently from the driver's seat.

"And I doubt you couldn't handle an old man paralyzed from the waist down," Lydia quipped from the front passengers seat.

"He has automatic assault rifles," Isaac stressed.

"We're here," Allison cut them off, pulling over in front of the modest house nearby Jessie's old one.

The three of them got out of the car but paused when they noticed a small moving van in the driveway.

"What's going on?" Isaac asked the girls, but they both shrugged, not knowing any more than he did.

Lydia marched up to the front door and knocked loudly. The door opened to reveal two moving men carrying large boxes out of the house towards the van. Lydia stepped aside to let them out of the house and walked in, her heals clicking and clacking on the hardwood floors. The other two followed her into the house and stopped at the living room where they saw Emily and her father taping up some boxes and labeling them.

"What the Hell is this?" Lydia asked with pursed lips and wide eyes.

Emily spun around to see them all standing there and stood up awkwardly, "We were supposed to be gone before you noticed."

"Gone where?" Allison asked slowly.

"Back home, love," Matthias answered for his daughter.

"Don't call her that," Isaac growled at the hunter.

"Calm down, Isaac," Emily admonished him. "We're leaving for home. And retiring from hunting. For good."

"Why?" Lydia pressed. "Why are you just leaving?"

Emily began to tear up, but Matthias scowled at the teenagers, "That, my dears, is none of your business. I'd like it if you would leave so we could pack in peace." With that said, he wheeled himself down the hallway towards the bedrooms of the house.

"Emily, what's going on?" Allison asked, concerned as Emily started to cry.

Emily sniffed, wrapping her arms around her elbows, "Alex is dead."

The three teens gaped at the girl. Allison stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the girl, hugging her closely, "What happened?"

"He was with Jessie, facing off something dangerous," Emily started to explain. At the mention of Jessie, Isaac visibly flinched. Lydia placed her hand on his arm in comfort as Emily continued, "It was attacking her and Alex protected her. But it killed him."

"I'm so sorry," Allison started rubbing her back. "I'm sorry."

"We just need to leave," Emily whispered. "We can't be here. We need to bury Alex next to my mother. And when we're there, we're staying there."

* * *

Scott and Stiles tried to get a scent from Malia's room while the Sheriff spoke to Mr. Tate to distract him. They had a little run in with a dog but there was no discernible scent for Scott to use. The boys met the Sheriff by their cars, "I'm sorry. I tried as hard as I could. If it wasn't so long ago, I might have been able to do it."

"It's okay," the Sheriff excused him. "It was a long shot... In fact, it was a pretty terrible idea. I think I just ripped a wound open in that poor man. I never should have brought you guys here. I don't know what I was thinking. Thanks for trying, all right?"

Scott nodded, "Yeah."

He got into his cruiser, "See you at home," and then drove off.

"Aren't there a lot of cases that go unsolved?" Scott asked Stiles when the Sheriff was out of ear shot.

Stiles stared after his father, "Yeah, I just think this is one he felt like he could've figured out right now."

Scott didn't understand, "Why is it so important right now?"

Stiles seemed reluctant to elaborate, "He wants to be able to solve one more while he's still Sheriff."

"What do you mean, 'still Sheriff'?"

* * *

Melissa giggled from the passengers seat of her new boyfriend's car. He parked in front of her house and she smiled at him, "Thanks for getting me from work."

"Don't worry about it," Gavin smiled. "I'll come over tomorrow and drive you back to the hospital to pick your car up. I have a friend who's a mechanic. He can take a look at it and probably help you out for a good price."

"That sounds wonderful," Melissa smiled. "Do you want to come in for some late dinner? I'm sure Scott hasn't fed himself either."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Gavin asked a little hesitantly. "I don't want to make Scott uncomfortable."

Melissa rolled her eyes. Scott had deemed Gavin worthy after thoroughly interrogating him and very literally 'sniffing him out.' "You don't have to worry about that."

Gavin smirked, "Well, I am hungry."

She smiled and led him into the house from the side door. They heard a man say, "I'm trying to help."

"That doesn't make any sense, dad," they heard Scott shout. "Who are you helping? Just get out."

Melissa and Gavin walked in to see Scott facing off with his father angrily.

Rafael remained blank faced, not noticing their presence, "Scott."

"What?" Scott shouted. "I can't believe that you'd do this to my best friend."

"I'm not doing anything to your friend," his father protested. "I'm doing my job."

"Your job sucks," Scott spat.

"Some days I can't argue that," Rafael conceded.

"Can somebody tell me what the hell is going on?" Melissa interrupted them.

"He's trying to get Stiles' dad fired," Scott accused.

"No," Rafael denied. "That is not true."

"What are you doing?" Melissa asked her ex.

He faced her, "Conducting a case for impeachment."

She gave him a sarcastic look, "That sounds a lot like getting him fired."

"The lack of resolution and ability to close cases is what's going to get him fired," Rafael elaborated. "My job is just to collect the information. And it's the job my superiors have given me."

"Your job sucks," Melissa echoed Scott's words from earlier.

Scott started to pant and growl and Melissa noticed his claws slipping out of his fingertips. She stood in front of him, grabbing his shoulders, "Scott. Sweetheart. Calm down. Come with me right now." She led him off down a hallway under the stairs.

"Who the Hell are you?" Rafael asked Gavin once Melissa and Scott left.

Gavin regarded him somewhat awkwardly but didn't show it, "I'm the new boyfriend. You're the ex. Gavin McGarretty, nice to meet you," he held out his hand.

Rafael ignored it.

"Let it go," Melissa coached her son down the hallway as he leaned heavily against the wall to the stairs. "Just breathe and let it go."

"I'm trying," he panted as his teeth elongated in his mouth.

"You told me you and Stiles learned a way to control this," Melissa tried to help. "You find an anchor, right? Find your anchor."

"My anchor was Allison," he groaned in exasperation. "I don't have Allison anymore."

"Then find a new anchor," Jessie's voice sounded from his other side. She was close to him, still dressed in her red party dress, leaning into his side. He could actually feel her for the first time. "Find a new anchor and lock in on it, Scott."

"Then be your own anchor," Melissa spoke over her. "You can do this."

Scott panted, shutting his eyes as he felt himself calm down and return to being human. He sighed out through his mouth. He felt Jessie take his hand, "Good job."

"Sweetheart, let me tell you something no teenager ever believes, but I  _swear_  to you is the absolute truth," Melissa promised. "You fall in love more than once. It'll happen again. And it'll be just as amazing and as extraordinary as the first time. And maybe just as painful. But it will happen again, I promise. And until then—be your own anchor."

"She's right," Jessie agreed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I love your mom."

_Scott opened his closed fist to reveal a small watch with a red leather band, "My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital. She used to say it was the only thing in their marriage that ever worked."_

_Jessie cracked a smile at that, "I love your mom."_

_Scott slowly smiled from the side, "Me too."_

_Jessie laid her hand on his shoulder in comfort, "This'll work. We'll find her."_

Scott sighed, leaning his head back on the wall, shutting his eyes.

* * *

"You know, if my dad's right, that means there's another werewolf in town that we haven't met yet," Stiles commented to Scott as the two went searching in the woods for the wreckage of the Tate family accident.

"I know," Scott answered.

"If it turns out to be something like triplets that form into, like, a three-headed hound of hell—I'm seriously not up for that," Stiles let him know.

"Yeah, me either," Scott agreed. "Especially if I can't even control my own transformation anymore."

A high pitched howl rang through the cold air, causing Stiles to jump and bump into Scott, tossing his phone out of his hand. It fell down the hill and plopped into a little puddle of water.

Scott gave Stiles a look. His best friend held his hands up defensively, "Sorry, buddy. I hate coyotes so much. They always sound like they're mauling some tiny, helpless little animal."

The two made their way down the hill and Scott picked up his phone, wiping it on his sleeve and looking at the screen to see the GPS signal was still working, "It still works."

"Let me see the flashlight," Stiles grabbed for the tool when he thought he saw something, flashing the light onto a turned over car covered in dirt. "I think we found it."

The boys began to walk down to the wreckage site. "Uh, why wouldn't they move it?" Scott asked confused. "Isn't it evidence?"

"Probably too much of a pain in the ass to tow out," Stiles guessed. "Look at this," he flashed the light on long claw marks dragging down the side of the car. "See those? Animal claws would be closer together, right? A lot closer."

Scott reached forward and ran his fingers along the scratch arks, his fingers stretching out to just the right distance. It was a match. "Then it was a werewolf."

"So, my dad was right," Stiles breathed.

"What is that?" Scott noticed something on the ground. Stiles reached down to pick it up and they both saw it was a worn down looking baby doll with a missing eye. Suddenly a squeaky mechanical voice erupted from the baby doll, "I'm hungry," causing both Scott and Stiles to shriek in fright and practically fall over themselves in fear.

Stiles panted harshly, "I think I just had a minor heart attack."

Scott panted too, holding one of his hands on his chest. He paused when he heard growling and looked around until he saw some luminous eyes in the darkness of the forest, "Hey, Stiles. Please tell me you see that."

Stiles stood up next to him and looked, "I see it."

Scott suddenly took off after the coyote, causing it to sprint off, way too fast for a normal coyote. "Wait, hey, Scott!" Stiles called after him, "Scott, wait!"

Scott panted heavily as he sprinted off after the coyote, his eyes glowing vibrant red. A moment later he felt his werewolf boost leave him along with his control. He groaned, slowly down as he and the coyote came to a cliff's edge. He wolfed out just in time to make the huge leap to the cliff on the other side. He snarled at the coyote as it turned around to snarl back at him. He felt his eyes start to glow and the coyote stuttered in it's growing, it's eyes glowing bight blue.

Scott stopped, gaping, "Malia?"

The coyote didn't answer, running off on the stunned alpha.


	3. Agents Darcy and Ulrich

Scott sprinted through the woods, his nose trained for the scent of Malia. He dodged every rock and tree, desperately searching for the were-coyote that got away from him. He suddenly bumped into Stiles, both of the boys screaming in fright.

Stiles held his chest where his heart was, panting, "I think I found something."

"So did I," Scott said, both of the boys ending up in a small cave.

"It's a coyote den," Stiles said, flashing his flashlight around the place.

"Werecoyote," Scott corrected.

"You see this?" Stiles held up a fleece sweater. "This is Malia's. Remember, it's the same one she was wearing in the photo."

"We shouldn't be in here," Scott breathed out.

Stiles eyed him, "What do you mean?"

"She's not going to come back now," Scott cursed himself. "We just invaded her home. Our scent's going to be everywhere."

"If she's not going to come back here, where's she going to go?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know," Scott sighed.

Stiles ran a hand down his face, "Can you track her now? You think you got her scent?"

"Maybe," Scott slightly shrugged. "But I'm better at this when I'm full wolf. And I'm still worried that if I do it, I won't be able to turn back."

Stiles sighed deeply, "The door's still open."

Scott looked over his shoulder, noticing a figure behind him. He saw Jessie, dressed in winter clothes, a large off-white sweater, jeans and boots. She rubbed her hands together for warmth, her breath coming out in ghostly mists. "Come on, Scott. You can save her. You can save this one. Like you couldn't save me."

"Yeah," Scott answered Stiles statement, ignoring Jessie and the guilt she ravaged from his chest. "If I can't get to Derek, we're gonna have to find someone else to help. This is basically a crime scene, right? I think it might be a little out of my boss's league."

Stiles understood what he was implying, "And more in my dad's."

* * *

Nuala was woken by a noise in the kitchen. She sat up quickly, blinking rapidly. She reached under her pillow and wrapped her fingers wrapped around the hilt of her long silver hunting knife. She lifted herself out of bed and opened her door without a creak, standing on her toes to be quiet. She tip-toed down the stairs as quickly as she could, rounding the corner at the bottom into the kitchen. She sighed with relief when she saw her older sister at the kitchen counter.

"Oh, it's just you," she breathed.

Dechtire looked up from her collection of weapons and fake IDs on the counter and smirked, "At least you're ready to defend yourself on the fly. Were you expecting some big bad waiting in the kitchen?"

"Whatever," Nuala huffed. "I'm used to living alone while you're out on a hunt."

"Well, here you'll be hunting with me," Dechtire told her. "You're old enough. You're just not old enough to pose as FBI."

"What?" Nuala asked, setting her knife on the other side of the counter. "It's been one day, how can there already be a job here?"

"I told you someone set of some kind of... beacon here," Dechtire explained. "It's attracting a lot of nastys."

"There's a supernatural beacon in Beacon Hills? That's original." Nuala deadpanned. "Where are you going?"

"They found a crime scene in an animal den deep in the woods," Dechtire said. "I need to go see what they found."

"Were you listening to the police scanner again?" Nuala accused lightly. "Who are you going to be this time? Lee? Tyler? Maybe Agent Ulrich?"

Dechtire shook her head, "No. If we're going to be here for a while we need absolute continuity. It'll be known that I'm your guardian and you're already enrolled in school under Darcy. So, I got Gunther to make me a FBI ID with that name."

"So, you'll only be half-lying," Nuala shrugged. "How long will you be out?"

"Late," she answered. "Don't wait up. Just be on alert."

"Are you going to update me when you get back?" Nuala asked.

"No," Dechtire replied a little curtly as she slipped on a black blazer. "Just go to sleep. Go to school tomorrow. I'll update you if there's something to this when I know for sure. For now, be a teenager."

"Fine," Nuala huffed.

* * *

The Sheriff muttered something to his new deputy before he walked over to where Scott and Stiles were waiting. "You're  _sure_  it was her?"

"I looked her right in the eyes," Scott insisted. "And they glowed just like mine."

"It makes sense, Dad," Stiles added.

That didn't ease the Sheriff's confusion, "But it wasn't a girl. It was a four-legged coyote, right?"

"Well, okay," Stiles started, "but yeah, see, that's the point that we don't exactly have that figured out yet."

"Okay, but if it was a full moon and she did change while her mom was driving, then anything could've happened," Scott supported him.

"Horrible things could've happened," Stiles reiterated. "Ripping, shredding, tearing things."

"Which is probably what caused the accident," Scott guessed.

"Think about it, Dad," Stiles said when he saw his father's still-skeptical look. "They're driving, Malia starts to change, she goes out of control, her mom crashes and everybody dies."

"Except for Malia," Scott inserts.

"She blames herself," Stiles continued, "all right, goes off running into the woods and eventually becomes trapped inside the body of a coyote."

The Sheriff nodded slowly, "That makes sense," he paused, spouting harshly, "In a Chinese folktale! Boys, this is—this is insane. I need this kept quiet. The two of you, not a word. I don't want anyone hearing about this. I especially don't want Mr. Tate hearing about this. Scott?"

Scott was looking behind Stiles, seeing Jessie's body sprawled over a rock, with himself over her, in total wolf form, growling. She writhed under him and he raised a clawed hand to strike her with.

"Scott!" the Sheriff's voice called to him.

Scott snapped back to attention, "Sorry. What did you say?"

Before the Sheriff could repeat himself, a black car with lights on drove up to them. He cursed, "Oh, hell."

Mr. Tate flopped out of the passengers side door, staring numbly at the fleece sweater in the Sheriff's hand as he walked up. "Mr. Tate."

"It's hers," he states numbly, his hand reaching for it.

Agent McCall walked up behind the man and patted him on the back, "All right, wait here."

"Excuse me, Sheriff?" a feminine voice broke through the group. All turned to see a young woman dressed in dress pants, a blouse and blazer with running shoes on her feet. A man dressed in a suit walked up with her, fuzzy red facial hair curled like the hair on his head with black rounded rectangle rimmed glasses on in front of his blue eyes. The woman had wavy brown hair with black streaks and deep green eyes.

"Yes?" the Sheriff asked, utterly confused. Agent McCall eyed the pair warily.

"I'm Agent Darcy, this is my partner Agent Ulrich," she answered, both of them flashing their badges to the Sheriff. "We got called down here about a recently re-opened cold case."

"You're FBI?" Agent McCall asked them skeptically. "Which branch?"

"We're from the Portland Field Office," Agent Ulrich answered. "Home-base sent us down here to help out."

"Well, the San Francisco branch is already here," Agent McCall told them a little territoriality.

The woman shrugged, "All we know is we got orders. Just like you."

"Who's your supervisor?" Agent McCall demanded, frowning.

The woman rolled her eyes, as if she heard this before, and pulled out a little white card from her blazer pocket, "Samuel Cole, call him if you don't believe us. But he won't be happy with you."

Mr. Tate had wandered off towards McCall's car, clutching the sweater in his hands and looking ready to burst into tears. Agent Darcy noticed him.

Agent McCall took the card from her, "I will. Wait here."

"Dad," Scott chided his father, trying to think of anything that would discourage him.

"I'll talk to you in a minute. I wouldn't mind hearing how your mom's okay with you running around in the woods this late." He took out his phone and walked off, dialing the number.

Agent Darcy walked off towards Mr. Tate the moment Agent McCall's back was turned to them.

Agent Ulrich faced the Sheriff before turning to the two boys, "I understand you are the ones who found this place."

"Yes, yes sir," Stiles slightly stammered, thrown for a loop as more FBI Agents entered the picture.

"What were you doing out here so late?" he asked them skeptically.

Scott and Stiles shared a look, trying to think of something.

"It'll all be in the report when I get back to the station," The Sheriff interrupted.

"You understand we have to conduct our own investigation," Agent Ulrich replied, sternly.

The Sheriff stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding, seeing no other way around the Agent, "Of course."

"Thank you," Ulrich answered, turning back to the boys. "Now, why were you out here?"

"Um, you see," Stiles started, "we were just... hiking! Then we got a bit lost."

"Yeah," Scott agreed, "we just kinda... stumbled on the... animal den."

"Had you heard any noises while you were out here?" he asked curiously. "See anything... unusual?"

"Unusual?" Scott repeated. "Like what?"

"Growling, maybe some eyes like look like they glow?"

Scott and Stiles shared another look. Glowing eyes? But both of the boys shook their heads. "No, nothing like that."

"I see," he answered as if he knew they were lying. "Well, be sure to call either myself or Agent Darcy if you... remember anything." He pulled out a little white card and handed it to Stiles.

Stiles thumbed the edge of the card reading what it said.

_FBI Portland Field Office_

_Agent Dechtire Darcy_

_(503) 555-2389_

_Agent Edgar Ulrich_

_(503) 555-8923_

"Sure thing," he muttered, folding it and shoving it in his back pocket.

Agent Darcy had made her way to Mr. Tate tentatively, "Mr. Tate?"

He looked up from the sweater in his hands and starred at her blankly, "Yeah?"

She fished her badge from her blazer and showed it to him, "I'm Agent Darcy from Portland FBI. Would you mind if I ask you some questions?"

He numbly nodded, "Yeah... yeah, sure."

"Until recently, it was believed that your wife and youngest daughter died in a car accident?" she questioned gently. "And your oldest daughter was not found at the scene?"

"Yes, that's right," he muttered. "The police believed coyotes—dragged Malia from the car."

"That's horrible," Darcy breathed sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tate. Now, the local PD claims some new evidence depicts foul play, correct? Did you ever suspect someone would want to harm you or your family?"

"No," he protested lifelessly. "Everyone loved my wife. And my daughters were just kids. No one would hurt them. It was some wide animal out here."

"I hear Beacon Hills has it's share of animal attacks," Darcy agreed with him. "There was a string of cougar attacks not long ago?"

"Yeah, it was killed at the High School though," Tate answered. "I'm a hunter, Agent. I know animals. This wasn't a cougar attack and it wasn't human. And I'm going to find whatever did this to my family."

"I understand, Mr. Tate, that you're angry," she told him. "Believe me. For years you believed you lost your family to a tragic accident and you made your peace with that. And now, suddenly things have changed. I'm sorry Agent McCall dragged you here."

"I needed to know," he spat. "I still need to know."

"And you will," she told him gently. "Let us all do our jobs and we'll help you get the answers you need." She noticed Agent McCall looking frustrated as he got off his phone and headed back towards the others. "If you need anything, or just need to talk to someone, give me a call." She handed him her card and excused herself back to her partner.

"So, how'd that phone call go?" Agent Ulrich asked McCall a bit smugly.

Agent McCall clenched his jaw together, "It seems you're in the clear."

"Now, that we have an understanding," Agent Darcy chimed in. "Why don't we check out that den? Excuse us, boys."

She led the Sheriff, Agent McCall and her partner up the hill before she whirled on McCall, "What the hell do you think you're doing by bringing him here?"

He was a bit taken a back by being confronted by the petite woman, glaring down at her, "I'm getting confirmation on a more than significant lead." He side glanced at the Sheriff, "And starting to understand why your department can't close cases."

"There's no body," the Sheriff protested. "There's no remains to identify."

"Well, not yet, Sheriff," he replied. "But do a little digging and I'm sure you'll uncover something. Like the bones of a 9-year old girl."

The Sheriff followed him towards the den, "I think you're going to find it's just a little bit more complicated than that, Special Agent."

"Come on, Stilinski you know how this goes," he spat at the Sheriff. "It's the  _not_  knowing that ruins people like Tate. The truth – no matter how profoundly it sucks – the truth is always better than not knowing."

"That's not true," Darcy walked over to him. "People don't want the truth. People want whatever makes them feel better—whatever gives them the kind of closure they want. You had no right bringing that poor man here and dragging him through the mud of his dead family's memory. It's Agents like you that make the world hate the FBI."

With that, she and her partner hiked back down the hill away from the other men.

* * *

"Here's where we found the den," Stiles and Scott pointed it out on a map on his touch-pad to Allison. "It's right in the middle of the hiking trails."

"Well, that could narrow it down. Coyotes travel in fixed trails," Allison commented. "But I think you're right about her not going back to the den."

"Coyotes don't like wolves," Georgie added from Stiles' side.

"And they're really smart. If they don't want to be heard, they actually walk on their toes," Allison finished.

Stiles looked at her, "Coyotes tip-toe?"

She rolled her eyes, "They tip-toe." The bell rang above their heads. "I got to go, but send me the pinned location."

"Okay," Stiles said as she walked out of their history class.

Scott went to take his seat when the new girl, Kira, appeared in front of him, practically bouncing on her heals, "Hey. I'm Kira. You knew that. I knew you knew that. I don't know why I just told you that." Scott bemusedly smiled at her as she stammered. "Anyway, I have something for you," she told him, going through her backpack.

"For me?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah," she chirped, "about the bardo. My explanation was sort of all over the place, so I did some research and I printed it out for you."

He chucked, "Ah, you didn't have to do that."

She shrugged it off, "It only took a couple of hours."

His eyes widened, "Wow. Then you really didn't have to do that."

"I swear I printed it out," she muttered, thumbing through the papers and folders in her backpack.

"Kira," she turned to see her father holding out a stack of papers, "you forgot all the research you did for that boy you like."

Her face immediately went slack, heat rushing through her skin. Scott remained as neutral as possible as she turned back to him with the papers, handing them to him with a deep frown. She embarrassingly fell into her seat and he walked to his.

Mr. Yukimura walked to the front of the class and began, "All right, everyone. Let's get started. We were just talking about interment camps and prisoners of war. There's a passage in our reading that I'd like to go over in more detail. Who would like to come up and read aloud for us?" He looked around the classroom, seeing no hands go up to volunteer. His eyes fell on Stiles, "Mr. Stilinski, how about you?"

Stiles started in his seat, looking up in mild panic, "Oh, maybe someone else could."

"Everyone participates in my class, Mr. Stilinski," Mr. Yukimara commanded lightly.

Seeing no choice, Stiles muttered, "Okay," and stood up to walk to the small podium with the text book on top of it. He peered out at his classmates all watching him with rapt attention. He looked down at the text book, but the little black words started to melt on the page, dragging down and floating around out of order. He started to shake, his hands slipping off the podium as he breathed in and out harshly and quickly.

Scott watched his friend start to hyperventilate and slowly stood up, "Stiles? You okay?"

"Does he look okay, Scott?" Jessie appeared next to Stiles on the podium. "He's freaking out, get him out of here."

Scott raced to his friend's side and took his arms in his hands, looking at Mr. Yukimara, "I should take him to the nurse's office." The teacher nodded his consent and Scott pulled Stiles out of the classroom, stumbling down the hallway and into a bathroom. Stiles ran into a sink and gripped it with white knuckles as Scott's voice filtered in and out of his mind, "Stiles, look at me, man. Is this a panic attack?"

Stiles collapsed onto the ground, sitting against the wall under the sink, "It's a dream, it's a dream. This is just a dream."

"No, it's not," Scott insisted. "This is real. You're here. You're here with me." He grew more desperate when Stiles was still hyperventilating, "Okay, what do you do? I mean, like, how do you tell if you're awake or dreaming?"

"Your fingers," Stiles gasped. "You count your fingers. You have extra fingers in dreams."

Scott licked his lips and held out his fisted hands, "How many do I have?"

Stiles started looking around, looking ready to pass out.

"Hey, look at me!" Scott urged him. "Come on, Stiles. Look at my hands and count with me."

Scott held up his fists, putting up one finger.

"One..." Stiles panted. Scott put up one more finger. "...two..."

"Keep going," Scott goaded him.

"Three..." Stiles squinted, counting another finger, "... four..."

Scott held up all his fingers on his right hand, "Five."

He held up his left thumb, "Count Stiles."

"Six... seven..." Stiles counted along, "Nine... ten..."

"Ten," Scott confirmed, "Ten."

Stiles regained his breath, finally realizing that he was awake, not dreaming, not crazy at the moment. He frowned, feeling his grip on sanity slipping through his fingers, "What the hell is happening to me?"

"We'll figure it out," Scott promised him, looking at his friend and trying to hide the deep concern he had for him right now. "You're going to be okay."

"Am I?" he asked in a small voice. "Are you?... Scott, you can't transform. Allison's being haunted by her dead aunt. I mean—god, you're being haunted by Jessie and she isn't even dead! And I'm straight up losing my mind. We can't do this. We can't—we can't help Malia. We can't help anyone."

"We can try," Scott responded. "We can always try."


	4. Chasing the Coyote

The bell rang over head. The students all leaped from their seats as Mr. Yukimara called over the ruckus, "Do not forget the chapters on President Carter and the Commission on Wartime Relocation."

Kira strung her backpack onto her shoulder when she noticed Scott and Stiles' bags still in class. She paused, before deciding she should grab the bags and bring them to the boys. It would be nice to see Scott again.

She ventured out into the emptying hallway, wondering where the two had escaped to. The closest private place she could think of was the boys locker room so she started that way. A moment later she noticed the halls had quieted and looked around to see that they were empty. She heard a light growling sound and felt her heart start beating out of her chest.

She slowly turned to look behind her and saw a light furred coyote hunched at the end of the hall, snarling at her. "Oh my god," she breathed in panic as she ran. Which turned out to be a mistake because she ran off into the locker room. She heard the coyote growling louder as it gained on her. She dropped the bags weighing her down and went to hide behind a row of lockers.

Suddenly, she heard a voice cry out, "HEY! HEY!" She flinched at the volume and turned around the lockers to see the coyote poised over one of the backpacks, shredding it already. A girl stood in front of it. She had long light brown hair and freckled features. She held a long staff and bagged against the metal lockers with it, the sound making Kira and the coyote flinch. The coyote still snarled at the girl though, a baby doll under its muzzle on the floor.

Then the girl raised a small golden tube to her lips and blew. Kira heard nothing but the coyote whimpered, it's ears flattening against it's head as it scooped up the doll and scurried away.

* * *

Scott and Stiles were on their way back to the classroom for their bags when Scott suddenly fell onto his knees, hands over his ears, "Ah!"

"Scott?" Stiles asked worriedly. "Dude, what's going on?"

Scott calmed down, slowly lowering his hands, "Freakin' dog whistle?"

"What?" Stiles gaped. "From where?"

Scott looked vaguely over back where they came from, "Locker room."

* * *

Kira tentatively came out from behind the bleachers, watching the girl pull something out of the bag, a baby doll. She awkwardly coughed, "Um... thank you for..."

"Don't mention it," The girl said. "It didn't happen, okay?"

"What?" Kira asked, thoroughly confused.

"I was never here," the girl insisted. "You never saw me. You hid, heard growling and then you heard it stop. You figure the coyote got what it wanted," she pointed at the ripped up backpack of Stiles'. "Please."

Kira nodded mutely. The girl looked around, "Is there a back door?"

Kira shrugged, "I don't know. I'm kinda new here."

"Damn, me too," she muttered. "I'm going to go. Are you okay now?"

Kira nodded awkwardly, "Think so."

"Okay," the girl responded, "I'm Nuala. See you around." With that, she skipped towards the other side of the locker room. Kira heard a door open and shut. The next moment the other door, the one she had run in here through, opened up to reveal Scott and Stiles barging in.

The boys looked at her before looking down at the bags, Stiles' being shredded. He bent to picked it up while Scott walked over to Kira, "What the hell happened here?"

"It was this coyote," Kira gulped. "It chased me in here. But I think it's gone now."

"Did you see it leave?" Stiles asked, rifling through his bag.

Kira thought carefully on what the girl coached her to say, "No. I hid behind the lockers, heard it growling and stuff... but then it went quiet. I figured it got what it wanted."

Scott paused and narrowed his eyes when he caught the slight uptick on her heartbeat at her words, realizing that she had to be lying. But he told himself that she could just be scared and that's why her heartbeat was erratic. His thoughts were interrupted by his best friend.

Stiles huffed and tossed his bag back down on the ground, "Yeah, I think so too."

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked him.

Stiles gestured him over, "I think we need to call my dad." He leaned in to whisper so Kira couldn't hear. "She took the doll, Scott."

Not too long after, the Sheriff and other police deputies were swarming the locker room and creating a perimeter around the school. The Sheriff spoke to Stiles and Scott out in the hall, "A couple of students said they saw it running across the field and back into the woods. Thank god nobody got hurt."

"What happens if she does hurt someone?" Stiles asked.

The Sheriff heaved a sigh, "Most likely, they'll have to put her down."

Stiles gaped at his father, "Put her down? Dad, try not to forget there's a girl in there, one that you'll be killing. Come on, you aren't back to not believing, are you?"

"I believe there are a lot of things I don't understand yet," The Sheriff pointed out. "But that doesn't mean that everything and anything imaginable is suddenly possible. Now, are you 100% sure that this is a girl and not an animal?"

"Yes!" Stiles insisted. "Because Scott's sure." He paused, sighing, "Besides, I think I know what she was looking for."

"What?" The Sheriff asked.

"Her doll," Stiles revealed. "It was in my bag."

"You took the doll from the car?" Scott asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded. "I thought you could us it, you know, for like her scent."

"Well, it's gone now," Scott shrugged. "We'll have to think of something else."

* * *

"Xylazie," Deaton called out to Stiles, Scott, Isaac and Georgie as he came into the examination room of his clinic with three viles. "It's a tranquilizer for horses. For a Werecoyote, expect it to work within seconds. I only have three. So, whoever's shooting, needs to be a damn good shot."

Scott shrugged flippantly, "Allison's a perfect shot."

"She used to be," Isaac chimed in, still remembering the arrow to Lydia's head incident.

Scott faced him emphatically, "She can do it."

"If we manage to find the thing," Isaac retorted.

Stiles glared at the werewolf, "Okay, what is the point of him?" gesturing to the boy accusingly. "Seriously, I mean, what is his purpose? Aside form the persistent negativity – and the scarf?" He faced Isaac, speaking to him mockingly, "What's up with the scarf anyway? It's 65 degrees out."

Isaac regarded him boredly, "Look, maybe I'm asking a question no one here wants to ask. How do we turn a coyote back into a girl, when she hasn't been a girl for eight years?"

The group got quiet, Scott looking deeply into the steel table in thought, "I can do it."

Stiles looked at his best friend surprised, "You can?"

Scott nodded, not seeming all that confident, "You remember the night that Peter trapped us in the school?" Stiles nodded for him to continue. "In the gym, he was able to make me turn using just his voice. Deucalion did the same thing in the distillery."

"This is a were-coyote Scott," Deaton pitched in. "Who knows if it'll even work if you can find someone who can teach you."

Realization dawned on Stiles, "That's why you called Derek first."

Scott nodded, sighing, "Yeah, I could try it on my own. But right now, I'm too scared to even change into just a werewolf."

"We need a real Alpha," Stiles pondered.

Scott gave him a look.

Georgie came in to her boyfriend's rescue, "He just means an Alpha who knows how it works, Scott."

"Is there anyone besides Derek who could help?" Deaton asked.

"Maybe the twins?" Stiles suggested.

Georgie shook her head, "But they're not Alphas anymore, babe. Their eyes are blue."

Deaton nodded, "She's right. What Jennifer did to them, almost killing them. It broke that part of them."

"More importantly," Isaac broke in, vaguely pointing at Georgie and Stiles, "Babe?"

Georgie rolled her eyes, "We're a couple, remember?"

"Whatever," Scott interrupted. "Even if the twins could help, we don't know where they are. Nobody's seen them for weeks."

Stiles went sheepish, "Well, actually, that's not entirely true."

* * *

Nuala stuffed her dog whistle into her shirt before walking into the quaint house her sister Dechtire had them squatting in. She dropped her backpack off at the end of the stairs and walked into the kitchen to see her sister and her temporary partner standing at the kitchen counter with a lap top and their police scanner.

"What's up?" Nuala asked as innocently as she could.

Dechtire was leaning on her palms on the counter, which meant she was thinking, thinking hard, "Heard there was a coyote sighting at the school today."

Nuala nodded, going into the fridge for some juice, "Yeah, but a few kids saw it run back into the woods."

"Good nobody got hurt," Ed muttered. "Did you see it?"

She shook her head nonchalantly, "Nope. I just heard about it since school let out early for it."

"We need to find this were-coyote," Ed murmured, taking a sip of his coffee.

"We're not the only ones looking for it," Dechtire commented, turning to look at her sister. "There's a pack here. But not like any we've seen."

"What do you mean?" Nuala asked. "Like that Alpha pack Deaton told us about?"

"No, like they're not all werewolves," Dechtire answered, bringing out a folder full of papers and photos. She opened it and laid out profiles she'd begun to compile for herself. "This is everyone connected to the great True Alpha in town."

"True Alpha?" Nuala repeated dubiously.

"It means that he became an Alpha all on his own, just from being this..." Ed began to explain, searching for the words, "just from being a good apple I guess. He didn't kill a previous Alpha for the status."

"Impressive," she commented. "Who are they?"

"Let's get you caught up then," Dechtire accepted. Nuala was glad to be clued in at least somewhat. When she was younger, going into the life was the last thing she ever wanted. She wanted to play outside, not learn how to aim a gun. But now, she was chomping at the bit to get a taste of the action her sister got every day.

She just wished it wasn't so lonely.

"The True Alpha is Scott McCall," Dechtire pointed at the school photo of a tan boy with kind brown eyes and a crooked jaw line. "He was bitten by Peter Hale in his Sophomore year of High School. He was pretty much an Omega until recently. He has plenty of enemies, but they're our kind of enemies. So, he's no trouble to us unless his Alpha bite goes to his head. He lives with a single mother who works as a nurse at the hospital. But his father is a FBI Agent who has taken up residence here for a while. He's a royal pain in the ass. But research says he took off on the kid before he lost his first tooth."

"Who's his beta?" Nuala asked. "A werewolf?"

"You'd think so, but no," Ed answered her somewhat sarcastically. He was more of a bitter person than the nerdy ghost facer he used to be. Ever since his best friend walked out on him. He took up the life to feel like he was actually doing something worth while for once. No more cameras or blogs. Just the life.

"It's a human, Scott's best friend, Stiles Stilinski," Dechtire pointed at the profile next to Scott's. "Just the average human but Deaton says he's smart. He's the brains of the operation apparently. His dad is the Sheriff of Beacon Hills."

"Next is Allison Argent," Dechtire moved along.

"Argent?" Nuala interrupted. "As in the werewolf hunters in ancient France?"

Dechtire nodded, "The very same. She's apparently reformed though. She came to Beacon Hills with her father and mother in Sophomore year, the same year Scott got bitten. According to Deaton, she and Scott dated for a while there but broke up after her mother committed suicide because she'd been bitten by an Alpha, Derek Hale."

"Hale, I know that name," Nuala mused. "I read that that family had all died in a house fire. It was exposed as arson some time last year."

"It was arson, by Kate Argent, Allison's aunt," Dechtire told her. "But Derek Hale, his uncle Peter and his sisters Laura and Cora all survived. Which brings us to Derek Hale. He left after the fire but came back after his older sister, Laura, returned to Beacon Hills and got herself killed. Peter Hale had done it, and got himself killed by Derek for it. Making him an Alpha."

"Then how is he part of Scott's pack?" Nuala asked. "Doesn't he have his own?"

"He did," Ed chimed in, "for a brief time. Bit two teenagers and took in a third beta. Two are dead and the other is in Scott's pack now. Derek lost his Alpha status somehow."

"Deaton said he used his spark to heal his sister," Dechtire explained. "So, technically he's an Omega, but he lines up behind Scott, so we're considering him part of the pack."

"Then there's Isaac Lahey," Dechtire slid another profile closer to Nuala's eyes. She held in her gasp of surprise when she saw a picture of the boy in her art class. The only person she'd spoken to since coming to Beacon Hills – at least innocently.

"He was bitten by Derek," Dechtire summed up. "He's Scott's age, practically his beta now."

"Alright," Nuala nodded nonchalantly. "You said the pack wasn't mostly werewolves."

"We're getting there," Dechtire tsked. "Then there's Lydia Martin. She's a banshee."

Nuala's eyebrows rose her her hairline, "Those are still around?"

"In small doses, yes," Ed said. "Most banshees are so washed out with human DNA that their powers only come out in great traumatic, stress-induced situations. Like the whole lifting a car off a baby thing."

"But Peter bit Lydia while he was an Alpha," Dechtire added on. "It brought out the banshee in her. But it doesn't seem like she knows what it all means. She's useful in her own right though – has a genius IQ according to her test scores."

"So, she's got these abilities without knowing what to do with it?" Nuala summed up. "That must suck."

"She'll get the hang of it," Ed chimed in. "There's... one more member."

"Besides Scott, she's the most important one," Dechtire pushed forward a picture of a girl with dark curly brown hair and friendly brown eyes. She was curled under Isaac Lahey's arm and Nuala couldn't help but feel a bit let down. Of course Isaac already had a girlfriend. "Jessica Hansen. She goes by Jessie."

"What is she?" Nuala asked.

"She the chosen one, essentially," Ed said. "There's this prophecy from Romania and an identical one from Germany that says the original vampire line and the Grimm family line would mix together and create the most powerful supernatural being the world has seen."

Nuala eyed the picture skeptically, "And it's her?"

Dechtire pushed an older picture of a teen couple together. The man had brown spiky hair and tanned skin with brown eyes, and his girl had long dark curly hair parted in the middle that looked like Jessie's. They looked young and happy. Then Nuala noticed a slight bulge in the girl's stomach – she was pregnant. "Those are her parents. Wesley Sange was a descendant from the original vampire clan, but over the years his family became mostly human. Tanya Torvus was a descendant of one of the two branches of the Grimm family. She came from the side nobody likes but she wasn't a hunter. They met in High School, fell in love, blah blah blah. The had Jessie when they were still teenagers, lived with the Hales because her family didn't want her to have the baby. A few months after Jessie was born, Wesley and Tanya were murdered and it was made to look like an animal attack."

"They wanted to kill Jessica before she could become the powerful thing they feared, whatever it was," Ed explained. "But she wasn't at the scene when the police got there. Even now, no one we've talked to knows how she survived or got out of there."

"Or who saved her," Dechtire hinted. "The point is, once her full power is unlocked, she'll nearly be unstoppable."

"When will that be?"

"Now," Ed sniffed. "She got fed some vampire blood when she was dying a couple months ago. It helped save her life. But she was too unstable so another hunter, Alex, took her to Portland to contact the other Grimm line and help her get control."

"So, she's there now?" Nuala asked. "When is she coming back?"

Dechtire shrugged, "When she's ready."

* * *

Stiles drove himself and Georgie into the woods with Scott riding alongside them on his motorbike. They pulled into a clearing where they saw Lydia and Allison's car parking as the girls and Isaac got out and gathered around.

"Anyone else think we might be doing more harm than good?" Lydia asked wryly.

Scott gave her a look, "We're trying to keep a father from killing his own daughter."

"Actually," Isaac began chiming in, "we're trying to keep a guy from killing a coyote who is actually his daughter, who we don't know how to change from a coyote back to his daughter."

Stiles sighed exasperatedly, "Again with the not helping."

Isaac rolled his eyes as Scott turned to Allison, "Did you bring it?"

Allison didn't speak as she opened the trunk of her car and pulled out a large hunting rifle.

"You think you can do this?"

Scott whirled around to see Jessie standing behind him. She wore winter clothes, and held ice skates in her hands. The same ones she wore when they all went ice skating in the wake of Peter and Kate's deaths.

"Come on Scott, you're gonna have to roar – like an Alpha," Jessie goaded. "But you don't even believe in yourself enough to transform at all. You need to believe in yourself and be the Alpha you rose up to be."

"How?" Scott asked without thinking. Everyone was looking at him now.

"Scott?" Georgie asked concerned.

"It's easy, Scott," Jessie smiled encouragingly. "I never stopped believing in you."

Just then, two gun shots rang out in the air, making the hair on his arms and the back of his neck stand up. He jumped onto his bike and revved the engine, only pausing to put on his helmet before taking off, ignoring Stiles call behind him, "Wait, wait. Wait! Wait!"

Allison and Isaac took off in the same direction, Allison clutching her weapon.

Stiles phone rang and he pulled it out, answering it. He heard his dad's voice on the other end, telling him the coyote showed up to Tate's house and ransacked the place looking for something. "It's gotta be the doll. That's what she came to the school for. Did you ever find it?"

"No, but listen to me. There are traps all over those woods. Near the trails. Probably near the car crash. And Tate is out there with a rifle. I want you to stay out of those woods. You got that?"

Stiles couldn't answer when another gunshot rang through the air.

* * *

Allison panted as she tried to keep up with Isaac's sprinting, "Isaac, wait!"

Isaac kept running, following the scent, when his foot triggered a trap. The teeth clamped onto his ankle, digging into his skin and blood and bone. Isaac threw his head back and screamed and howled in pain, the sound echoing through the woods.

* * *

Elsewhere, the shrill echo stabbed Scott's ears and threw him off balance. The bike slipped from under him and threw him forward, sending him tumbling in the dirt, groaning in pain.

He flipped onto his stomach, slipping his helmet off. He saw Jessie crouched in front of him, on her stomach as well, "Get up. It's not over yet, Scott. Get up."

* * *

"Allison," Isaac panted, "there he is." Allison looked over to see Tate pointing a rifle at Malia the coyote. She just stared from a distance. "Hit Tate," Isaac told her, "Use the tranq on him."

Allison shakily held the rifle in her arms, aiming for Tate's back. Her hands didn't stop shaking while she pulled the trigger, and the tranq hit a tree.

"Allison," Isaac tried to calm her, "Allison!" She jolted to attention and looked at him. "Breathe," he guided her.

She sucked in a large breath, slowing herself down as she aimed, whispered something to herself in French, and then pulled back on the trigger. The tranq hit Tate in the back and he fell. Allison sighed in relief, looking around. She gaped when she noticed the absence, "Isaac, she's gone."

* * *

Stiles, Georgie and Lydia walked the woods while they tried to think of what Malia was doing, "Why would she need that doll?"

"Well, it was her sisters," Georgie guessed. "From that picture you took. It's probably important to her."

"That means there's some human still in there," Stiles nodded.

Suddenly, Georgie's foot stepped onto one of Tate's traps. She wasn't quick enough to realize what she'd stepped on before it closed onto her ankle. She screamed in pain, falling onto her stomach with the trap clamped onto her foot.

Stiles skidded to a stop and crouched at her side, "Georgie!"

"Oh my god!" Lydia panicked. "Don't move!" She crouched on Georgie's other side and looked at the trap, "There should be instructions on how to remove it."

"Okay," Georgie breathed out painfully, tears streaming down her face. Stiles gathered himself behind her, holding her in his arms and brushing her hair back from her face, wiping her tears away.

"I got it, I got it," Lydia chimed, reaching for a circular valve. She wrapped her fingers around it and twisted it to the right. The teeth pulled out of Georgie's limb and reset themselves flat. Georgie pulled her foot away quickly, but still breathed harshly in pain.

"She's losing a lot of blood," Lydia gazed at her ankle in worry. "We have to get her to a hospital."

"Wait, wait, wait," Stiles paused. "Do you have that book? The one with the healing spells?"

Georgie's head fell to his shoulder, shaking and writhing in pain, "No, no."

"Don't you remember any?" Lydia asked her.

Georgie started hyperventilating in Stiles arms.

"Oh god, she's going into shock," Lydia gasped. "Calm her down."

But before they could do anything, Georgie passed out.

"Georgie!" Stiles called to her, feeling helpless.

"Stiles," Lydia grabbed his attention. "You read some of those spells to heal her before. Do you remember any?"

"I don't—I don't know," Stiles breathed faster, "I don't know."

"Think, Stiles," Lydia prompted. "You're always the one who figures it out. You don't need books, just think."

Stiles look a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly. "Medicor...vulnus... malefica..."

They peered at Georgie's shredded up ankle, Lydia let out a breath as they watched the wound slowly close together.

"Thank god."

* * *

Scott chased Malia down to the car wreck once he caught sight of her. He skidded to a stop with her when they saw a hooded figure standing at the wreckage with a doll in her arms. They crouched down and placed the doll carefully against the car as Malia growled. The figure took off to a car and raced off.

Malia sprinted to the doll but Scott roared at her, making her pause and turn to face off with him. He took a deep breath, letting his wolf features out, eyes Alpha red, and let out a huge Alpha roar. The force of it sent Malia staggering backwards as it rung through the stale air.

* * *

Stiles looked up, impressed as he heard his best friend roar, "That's what I'm talking about."

* * *

Coyote Malia fell onto her stomach, and Scott watched with a gaping mouth as she transformed into a very nude and confused girl. She stared at him in disconnect and without recognition, looking at him and their surroundings.

"You did it, Scott," he heard Jessie's voice whispering in his head. "I knew it."

* * *

Stiles held Georgie by the shoulders as they leaned against his father's cruiser next to the jeep. Scott stood next to him with his bike as they watched the Sheriff guide Malia up to Tate's front door. They watched Tate open the door, his eyes whispering with recognition when Malia looked up at him. The father and daughter embraced with tears in their eyes. Stiles smiled at the scene, his eyes straying to the side mirror on the cruiser. He stopped short when the words were clear and readable. His spirits were lifted. Maybe things would be okay.

"Well, I need to get home," Georgie hinted.

Stiles smiled, "Let's get you home, then. See you later, Scott."

"Sure," Scott responded distractedly. "I gotta head out too."

* * *

Scott walked up to a front door and knocked. He only waited for a few minutes before it opened to reveal Bethany Hansen – Jessie's sister. "Hey Scott!" she pushed forward and wrapped her arms around his waist.

He laughed at her enthusiasm, "Hey, your parents here?"

She pulled back and nodded, "Yeah, we're all eating dinner."

"Oh, I can come back later," Scott stammered.

Paula peaked her head in the doorway, "Scott! How nice to see you again. It's been a whole 48 hours."

Scott shrugged bashfully, "It's been busy."

"Come on in," Paula smiled. "Hunter made pasta."

"Sure," Scott walked in, setting his helmet on the table by the door. He looked around like he always did, seeing the happy photos of Jessie all around. There was a black frame with a photo of Baako inside with a red rose painted on the side of it and the white letters spelling R.I.P on the other side. Bethany had made it when Melissa called them to tell them all that had happened. Paula had packed her and Bethany up and they were back in Beacon Hills within a week of Scott getting those letters. Since she had tasked Melissa with explaining everything to her family, the nurse had helped them cope. But Scott stopped in on them after Hunter woke up from his coma three days later. Unfortunately, the man was almost paralyzed and needed a cane to get around.

Scott walked through into the dining room, seeing the family sitting around the table with plates full of food. Bethany gestured to the empty chair next to her and he sat himself down, letting Paula dump pasta into a plate for him.

He looked across from his seat into the usually empty one that Jessie used to sit in. Only now he saw her there. She smiled at him, and he felt a peace he only felt with her – or his visions of her – in the only place that irrefutably her – her home.


	5. Glowing

Nuala was startled awake when she heard her sister rifling for something in the kitchen. Even though she was sure it was her sister, she grabbed her hunting knife anyway before making her way downstairs. She stopped at the entrance of the kitchen, seeing her older sister dressed in her fake FBI uniform and strapping her badge onto her inside pocket.

"Where are you going?"

Dechtire looked up, not startled, "To the hospital. A convicted bomber nut job is being dumped in Beacon Hills Memorial for surgery."

"He's human?" Nuala asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes. "Why is that our kind of problem?"

"He killed school kids with his bomb before he was caught, and blew off the legs of another," Dechtire told her. "The kids he killed were all werewolves."

"Were they dangerous?" Nuala asked for clarification. "I mean – since when did you get involved when the monsters were the victims?"

"Not all supernaturals are monsters," Dechtire told her sternly. "And when you get that through your head, then you'll be let out into the field."

"I've always known that, Dech," Nuala told her with a grim purse to her lips. "It's you who needed to learn how to separate monsters from people."

Dechtire kept quiet, strapping her gun to her side, "Ed's staying here with you tonight. Don't wait up."

* * *

Dechtire marched with a purpose into the hospital, just behind Agent McCall. The man eyed her with distaste as they continued into the lobby, "What are you doing here?"

"I was called in to make sure things go smoothly," Dechtire answered him.

Sheriff Stilinski stormed up behind them as they got to Melissa McCall. He pointed a finger at the FBI Agents, "Hey. He is not coming in."

"This is the only hospital that will take him," Agent McCall told him.

The Sheriff scoffed, "What about county?"

McCall scowled, "You'd be surprised how fast things fill up when a guy like this needs surgery."

Melissa gaped incredulously, "They turfed him to us?"

"Yeah," Sheriff Stilinski frowned, "If County doesn't want to operate on him..."

"Then someone has to," Dechtire finished.

The four of them all turned to the doors when the EMTs carted a thin human body on a gurney through the hall passed them. Melissa looked after them, "Someone needs to do his pre-op interview."

McCall looked down at her, "Who usually does that?"

She gulped, "Me."

* * *

"How'd you come up with this again?" Georgie asked her boyfriend as she followed him into the boys locker room with a backpack full of supplies.

Stiles shrugged as he dialed onto his phone, "I don't know. I'm an evil genius."

Georgie snorted.

"Dude!" Stiles exclaimed into his phone to his best friend. "Get your ass down here now. We have a job to do."

Georgie could just hear Scott's voice over the line, "Dude, I'm already in bed. And aren't we getting a little old for this?"

Stiles gave the air a look like it was crazy, "We do this for Coach."

"I thought we did this  _to_  Coach?"

"Whatever, okay?" Stiles flippantly sighed. "You know he needs this. He lives for this stuff. He loves it."

"But it's the middle of the night," Scott whined.

"That's what I said," Georgie seconded, earning a glare from the boyfriend that had woken her up for this.

"It's actually 12:15," Stiles corrected. "Which means it's  _after_  midnight and officially Mischief Night/Day, and, by perfectly awesome coincidence, it also happens to be Coach's birthday. So, if you are not down here in five seconds, I will destroy you." Georgie happened to be standing in front of him and could see Scott creeping up behind Stiles' shoulder. She kept her mouth shut.

"And I mean five, four," Stiles started counting, "three, two-" He had turned around to see Scott standing directly behind him, eyes Alpha red. He spluttered, yelped and fell to the ground in fright.

"One," Scott grinned.

"I hate you," Stiles muttered under the sound of Georgie's laughter.

* * *

"Try to keep in mind exactly what this guy's capable of," McCall warned his ex-wife as she prepared to walk into Barrow's room. "He's a former electrical engineer who decided to walk onto a school bus with a shrapnel bomb. He left four students dead and a fifth with no legs."

"Just out of curiosity," Melissa licked her lips, "have any of his psychiatrists made any progress?"

McCall reserved his expression, "I'm told he's says the same thing everyday. When he gets out, he's going to do it again. And next time, he's going to get it right."

McCall sat outside the room as she went in. Dechtire stayed close to the door, listening close to the conversation.

McCall glared at her, "What are you doing?"

"Intel," she muttered sarcastically before going back to listening.

She heard the nutcase calmly answer Melissa's questions, Melissa staying nervous and quiet throughout the interview. Suddenly, she heard Melissa ask, "Why did you do it?"

"I saw their eyes," Barrow whispered, his voice taking one a scared, painful note. "Their eyes were glowing. I saw them. I saw their eyes!" He started shouted, "Their eyes were glowing! Their eyes were glowing! Their eyes were glowing!"

Dechtire backed away from the door, a cold feeling washing over her.

* * *

"Scott..." Jessie's whispering voice sunk into Scott's consciousness as the sun light started to beat onto his face, "Scott..." she sang.

He blurringly opened his eyes, seeing her face right in front of his, like she'd been sleeping next to him the whole time. She was even wearing pajamas. "What are you doing here?"

She gave him a look, "You know why I'm here, Scott. Even if you don't want to or—or  _can't_  admit it. Deep down, you know why I'm the one you're seeing."

Scott reached over to brush her hair out of her face. He hadn't thought about it, but was shocked when he actually felt something. She was tangible – at least to him. "I blame myself for what happened to you."

Jessie smiled gently at him, reaching for his cheek, and he was shocked he could feel some warmth in his skin where her hand was not truly there. "It's more than that. You know it's more than that."

Suddenly, his mom's voice could be heard behind his door, knocking, and then, "Come on, Scott, get your butt up for school. You too Isaac!"

Scott looked towards the door at the knocking and then back beside him on the bed to see an empty space.

* * *

Stiles and Georgie walked out of their cars parked next to each other. Georgie glared at him, "I got like no sleep thanks to you."

"Be careful," he warned her. "People could hear that and think something  _very_  different."

"So, you  _don't_  want people to think you get laid?" Georgie teased, letting him wrap his arm around her shoulders as they walked over to the bike lots to meet up with Scott.

Stiles pursed his lips in thought, "On second thought..."

Georgie laughed but it died when she saw Ethan and Aiden standing with Scott by their motorcycles, "Really?"

"You're back in school?" they heard Scott ask.

Ethan shook his head, "No, just to talk."

"Oh," Stiles broke in sarcastically, "that's kind of a change of pace for you guys. Usually, you're just hurting, maiming and killing."

"You need a pack," Aiden ignored him. "We need an Alpha."

Stiles chortled, slapping a hand on Scott's shoulder, "Yeah. Absolutely not. That's hilarious though."

"You came to us for help," Aiden reminded Scott of when he'd went to get their help to tap into his Alpha side. "We helped."

"You beat his face into a bloody pulp," Stiles intervened. "That's not helping. In my opinion, that's actually counter-productive."

"Why would I say yes?" Scott asked them.

"We'd add strength," Aiden answered. "We'd make you more powerful. There's no reason to say no."

"I can think of one," Isaac's voice filtered into the conversation as he walked up on Scott's other side, his face never impressed with the twins' presence. "Like the two of you holding Derek's claws while Kali impaled Baako." He paused, "In fact, I don't know why we're not impaling them right now."

"Because we're not like them?" Georgie suggested nervously.

"Sorry," Scott cut in, "but they don't trust you. And neither do I." With that, the four of them walked away.

* * *

Stiles ducked out of the way of a wayward flying roll of toilet paper, "All right, that's my face!" He let it slide and patted Scott on the back as they made their way to their lockers, "Hey, dude, good decision! Good Alpha decision."

"I hope so," Scott shrugged as he opened his locker.

"No, you  _know_  so," Stiles corrected sternly.

Scott was still distracted by his conversation with Not-Jessie this morning, he wasn't really listening.

"Dude, what's up?" Stiles snapped his fingers in his best friend's face when he noticed how out of it he was.

"Nothing," Scott shrugged it off.

"Is it her again?" Georgie asked softly. "Are you seeing her?"

"Yeah—kind of," Scott answered, closing his locker. "I saw her this morning."

"What did she say?" Stiles asked curiously. "It's got you all off."

"Well, she said I know why I keep seeing her," Scott said. "And I always thought it was because I blame myself for what happened with Jennifer..."

"Scott, that wasn't your fault," Georgie began.

Scott held up his hand to her, nodding, "I know, sort of. And I still think that's part of it. But she said it's more than that."

"More?" Stiles repeated. "Like  _more_ , more?"

"She just said more," Scott said. "What other more is there?"

Stiles and Georgie exchanged a knowing look, nearly silently discussing what to say.

Scott noticed the silent exchange, "What? What is it?"

Georgie grimaced, "It's just that you could be seeing her because... because of your feelings for her."

"Feelings?" Scott repeated dubiously. "What feelings?"

"You love her, man," Stiles said exasperated, like he'd been waiting to say it his whole life.

Scott gaped at him, "What?"

"Come on, man, it's been obvious since the whole Kanima ordeal," Stiles said. "You've loved her for a while. You've just never admitted it to yourself."

"That's impossible," Scott told them. "I don't like her like that."

Stiles sighed, "Of course you do. That's why you couldn't say goodbye to her when she was dying. That's why you have always been the first one there to comfort her. That's why you're hallucinating about her."

Georgie cut in, "You almost missed your chance to tell her how you feel. That part of your mind is open, Scott. And until you admit your feelings to yourself and to her, it's never going to close."

Scott looked between the two of them incredulously, "Wha—no. Okay? Just... no."

"No, what?" Isaac suddenly appeared by Stiles.

Scott and Stiles exchanged wide-eyed looks. They couldn't possibly tell Isaac they were discussing Scott's feelings – or lack thereof, according to Scott – for his ex-girlfriend that he was still in love with.

"Nothing," the boys said in unison.

"I gotta go to class," Stiles mumbled.

"Me too!" Scott excitedly chimed after him as they walked off to Coach's room.

Isaac looked confusedly towards Georgie. The girl nervously shrugged, "You know how weird they can be." And then she walked after them to class.

"Yeah," Isaac mumbled, turning to walk the other way to art when he bumped into someone. The girl yelped and he instinctively reached out to catch her from falling as well as the books in her hands. He looked down to see it was that new girl in his art class – Nuala.

"Nice reflexes," she commented, taking a step away from him. "I could have been a pancake just now."

"Yeah," he replied uncomfortably, "I guess it comes with lacrosse."

"Of course," she shrugged. "Are you on your way to art?"

He nodded, "Yeah, you?"

She shook her head, "I got myself switched out of that class. Art really isn't my thing. I'm taking journalism instead."

"So, you're a writer, not a painter," Isaac guessed.

She nodded, "I suck at both, but at least writing is cleaner. I don't spend the rest of the day with paint splotches on my face," she laughed, causing him to chuckle at her embarrassment.

"Well, have fun with all of that, the bell's about to ring so-" he didn't finish before the bell promptly rang throughout the halls.

Nuala looked up at the ceiling, impressed, looking back over at Isaac, "Good reflexes and psychic. What's your secret?"

He would normally laugh that innocent question off, but something about the way she asked made him think she knew something he didn't. Or something he didn't want her to know. Like she wasn't truly asking. "Just a good day I guess," he tried to brush it off as he walked passed her towards his art class. He walked into the room, giving a nod to Lydia over Allison's shoulder as he made his way to his usual easel. A few minutes into class, the teacher was making her rounds.

She stopped by Isaac's easel and tapped his shoulder, "Do you know where our new student is? Noo-walla?"

"It's Nuala," he corrected – somehow getting her name right – and continued, "and she said she switched to journalism. Something about not being great at art."

The teacher tittled like a bird, "That's preposterous, she's amazing!"

She reached over into a pile of canvases on the table behind them and pulled on up, setting it on the easel sitting empty next to them. She removed the wrap to reveal a beautiful painting of a woman with dark hair, dressed in an intricate lace wedding gown. The disturbing part of the painting was that she had maggots crawling out of her ears, eyes, mouth and down her dress, but she was still completely beautiful. And Isaac had to agree that obviously, Nuala had some talent.

So, why the switch?

* * *

The Sheriff, Agent McCall and Dechtire were all waiting out in the hallway while Melissa and the surgical staff worked on Barrow inside the OR. Dechtire tried not to let any nervousness show, but she knew there was more truth to Barrow's insanity than the real world realized. But she wasn't sure how he fit in to what was predicted.

Suddenly, there was a crash and screams as another nurse burst out of the OR running from a flock of flies. Dechtire and the other officers brandished their weapons and ran into the room, seeing Melissa holding the bleeding neck of the head surgeon. "He's gone! Barrow's gone!"

* * *

Marissa could feel red hot anger in her face as she sped way over the speed limit in her car until she reached the building Derek lived in. She raced out of the car and up the steps, throwing the sliding door open to see Derek sewing a severed piece of Peter's finger back onto his hand. Peter flinched, "Ow! Don't you have any anesthetic?"

"Yep," Derek replied, smirking at Peter's deadpan look.

"Derek!" Marissa growled and yelled at the same time, marching into the loft.

Derek's eyes widened as he abandoned his work on Peter's finger. The ex-alpha stood and turned to face his very angry and bereft girlfriend, "Mar..."

Her hand slapped his face well before he could react, but it didn't hurt, "Don't you Mar, me! You're rescued after disappearing on me and you don't even stop by to tell me you're alive! Fuck you!"

"Can we get back to salvaging my lost finger?" Peter asked in a mock-whine.

"No," Marissa answered without missing a beat, pointing an accusing finger at her 'boyfriend', "I had to hear the rescue mission went successfully from Deucalion. The guy who tried to kill us all. That guy!"

"How did you even contact him?" Derek asked, nearly angry at her being in any vicinity of the man who had put her life in danger before.

She rolled her eyes, "Who the Hell do you think got him to hire that mercenary to find you guys?"

"Look, I came straight here to sew Peter's finger back on, that's all," Derek tried to soothe her, reaching for her shoulders. "I would've come see you right after."

She huffed, forcing herself forwards to wrap her arms around him. He held her tightly, just as worried that he may not have returned to her just as she was. He heard her muffled voice in his chest ask, "Did you at least find what you were looking for?"

"Yes," Peter's voice chimed in behind them, causing the couple to break a part, "I'd like to know what I risked my life, and a digit, for."

"Calm down you big baby," Marissa chided him, walking over to finish his stitches.

"I'll show you," Derek responded, reaching for the round wooden box with a triskele design that matched his tattoo. He opened the top and pour thick claws onto the table. "After the fire, that's all that was left for her."

"Talia," Peter breathed his sister's name. "I can't decide if that's touching or morbid. I guess the real question is, what are you planning on doing with them?"

"I have to ask her something," Derek murmured. "And from what I've heard, this is the only way it's possible."

"You can use those to talk to her?" Marissa asked, somewhat in awe.

Peter stared incredulously at his nephew, "You gotta be kidding me."

Derek smirked, "Why do you think I sewed your finger back on?"

* * *

"What?" Nuala hissed into her phone. "He's coming here?"

She heard her sister's voice over the line, "He may already be there. I'm heading in with the Sheriff and FBI right now. I need you to help me find him."

"Aren't they gonna evacuate the school?" Nuala asked, that would make running around campus looking for a madman particularly difficult.

"No, no one goes in or out until they find him or sweep every area and confirm he's not there. You know how to sneak. I have to play good cop. So go."

"Fine," Nuala snapped her phone shut and stuffed her backpack into her locker. She knew where to start, somewhere serial killers would want to hide in a high school full of victims.

* * *

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Stiles chanted as he and Georgie chased after his dad through the hallways. " _The_  William Barrow!? The Shrapnel Bomber? Spotted nearby?"

The Sheriff grimaced, "A little closer than nearby, actually."

The principal and Agent McCall strode down the hallway, "How do we get down to the basement? I need to know where every entrance is. I don't want anybody coming in or out of the school."

Stiles gave his dad a look as they passed by, "Dad, what's really going on?"

* * *

"Barrow went after kids with glowing eyes?" Isaac asked as he, Lydia and Allison followed Stiles and Georgie through the school. "He said those exact words?

"Yeah," Stiles nodded. "And no one knows how he woke up from anesthesia. Just that when they opened him up, they found a tumor full of live flies, which in any other circumstance would be all kinds of awesome."

"Not really," Georgie disagreed.

"Did you say flies?" Lydia stopped dead in her tracks.

The others turned to look back at her. Allison grew concerned when she saw Lydia's fearful face, "Lydia?"

"All day I have been hearing this sound," Lydia explained. "It's like this buzzing."

"Like the sound of flies?" Allison elaborated.

"Exactly like the sound of flies," Lydia whispered.

* * *

Scott wandered down an empty hall towards the locker room when he stopped dead, seeing Jessie at the end of it. She was smiling, wearing some light summer clothes he vaguely remembered her wearing on the first day back to school this year.

"I guess Stiles blew the lid off of the whole shebang, didn't he?" she conversed knowingly. "Took him long enough."

"He's wrong," Scott insisted. He couldn't possibly have feelings for Jessie. She was his best friend, he would do anything for her, even die for her. But he couldn't want to be with her. She was also, in his mind, Isaac's. "He's just... wrong."

"Why do you think this is wrong?" Jessie asked him gently, walking closer to him. "Because of Isaac?" She seemed to know what he was thinking. Which made sense, since she was a figment created in his mind. She would know his thoughts. "Scott, you and I both know the truth. Isaac doesn't need me any more than you still need Allison. It's hard to let go of your first love and accept another. But your heart already has. You just gotta get your head to accept it too. Only then, will you stop seeing me."

"Hey, dude!" Stiles voice broke his concentration and his mirage of Jessie disappeared. He was startled as he looked over to where his best friend, Georgie and Lydia were racing towards him. "Where the hell have you been?"

"The police are leaving," Lydia whined. "Why are they leaving?"

"They must not have found anything," Georgie said.

"The police?" Scott asked, completely lost on the topic of conversation.

"Which means he's not here," Stiles continued, not hearing the questioning.

"Who?" Scott asked.

"He has to be here," Lydia insisted. "The sound – the buzzing I've been hearing? It's getting louder."

"How loud?" Georgie asked solemnly.

* * *

Stiles and Georgie chased after his dad with Lydia lagging behind them. "You can't leave yet!"

"We got an eyewitness that puts Barrow by the train station," The Sheriff told them, walking after Dechtire and McCall.

"Let's go, Stilinski," McCall called.

"Whoa, whoa, Dad," Stiles swayed. "Please just – Lydia said that he's still here."

Stilinski's eyes widened, "Did she see him?"

"Not exactly," Georgie hedged. "She gets supernatural feelings. Kind of like Jessie's."

"Lydia wasn't on the chessboard," The Sheriff stated, utterly confused.

"She is now," Stiles answered.

"Kanima?"

"Um, Banshee," Stiles told him.

The man pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Oh, God."

"I know. I know how it sounds," Stiles admitted. "But basically it means that she can sense when someone's close to death."

"Can she sense that I'm about to kill you?" his father asked sarcastically.

Stiles shrugged, "I don't know."

His father paused, sighing, stepping away to go do his job, "All right, look, I'm not saying I don't believe you, but right now, I'm going with eyewitness over Banshee. We're leaving a few deputies here. The school's on lock down till 3:00. Nobody comes in, nobody goes out. Buddy, that's the best I've got right now."

"You're leaving me here, that is not-" Stiles broke off incredulously, "that's the worst!"

* * *

Melissa quietly snuck around a vacant corner in the school hallway with a plastic bag, tip toeing towards her son who was waiting on her. "You got it?"

She handed him the bag, concerned expression on her face, "Promise me you'll be careful. I looked right in this guy's eyes, and it was terrifying."

"Yeah," Scott nodded, "okay, Mom, I promise." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead, "Okay?"

She nodded, still concerned, "Okay."

* * *

Scott walked towards the basement with Issac, Ethan and Aiden, holding Barrow's scrubs that his mom had brought him, "Lydia thinks that he's still here even though the cops searched the whole school. But they didn't have one thing – our sense of smell."

Each werewolf took their sniff before the twins went one way and Isaac and Scott went down towards the boiler room. Isaac scowled, "So, this is how it's gonna be now? We trust them?"

"Just because I'm letting them help, doesn't mean I trust them," Scott explained to him.

"Yeah, well, I don't trust them either," Isaac nearly growled. "Or like them. In fact, I hate them and just want them to die."

"Well, if Barrow's actually here and he's got a plan, you might get what you want," Scott replied wryly.

Isaac suddenly stopped, hearing footsteps, "I thought they went the other way."

"They did," Scott said slowly, hearing the footsteps too. He trained his sense of smell to hone in on whoever was closest to him, but it wasn't Barrow.

They walked forward until they turned a corner and another person bumped into them. They would have thought they'd be startled, but they were looking at a wide eyed girl Scott hadn't seen before.

"Nuala?" Isaac asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"


	6. Suspicion Arousal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isaac suddenly stopped, hearing footsteps, "I thought they went the other way."
> 
> "They did," Scott said slowly, hearing the footsteps too. He trained his sense of smell to hone in on whoever was closest to him, but it wasn't Barrow.
> 
> They walked forward until they turned a corner and another person bumped into them. They would have thought they'd be startled, but they were looking at a wide eyed girl Scott hadn't seen before.
> 
> "Nuala?" Isaac asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

Lydia, Georgie and Stiles started searching upstairs, walking in and checking empty classrooms. Lydia's eyes fell on a poster of the atomic bomb explosion, feeling fear in her heart, "Scott and Isaac are in the basement, right?"

"Yeah, with Ethan and Aiden," Stiles told her. "The plan is they meet in the middle, in the boiler room."

Lydia eyed him, "All of the wolves—all of the ones with glowing eyes are in the basement at the boiler room?"

"Oh, my god!" Stiles gaped at her. "An engineer could use a boiler room to blow up the whole school."

"We have to get them out of there," Georgie said.

"We have to get  _everyone_  out," Stiles reiterated.

"How do we do that?" Lydia asked the couple.

Stiles marched with Georgie in tow outside into the hallway, yanking on the nearest fire alarm.

* * *

Before Nuala could speak, the fire alarm blared above their heads, red lights flashing through the halls. In Isaac and Scott's momentary distraction, Nuala took off sprinting in the other direction, deeper in the basement and away from them.

Isaac noticed and shouted after her, "Where are you going!?"

"Dude, we need to go," Scott said, pulling on his shoulder.

* * *

The twins, Isaac and Scott jogged out of the rapidly emptying school, meeting up with Stiles, Georgie and Lydia – Allison had gone home to search the bestiary for any mention of flies coming out of the body.

"We didn't find anything," Aiden frowned.

"Not even a scent," Scott emphasized.

Stiles sighed, "It's 3:00, so school's over. If there was a bomb, wouldn't he have set it off by now?"

Isaac was looking around the crowds for Nuala, wondering if she really was still in the school, "I have to go back in."

"What?" Lydia snapped. "Are you crazy?"

"He's not in there, Isaac," Scott reminded the beta.

"But she still is!" Isaac pointed out. "What if there is a bomb waiting to go off with her in there?"

"Who?" Georgie asked. "Who would still be in there with the fire alarm?"

"That new girl, you called her Nuala," Scott said, still looking at Isaac.

But Isaac was staring back into the school. Trying to catch a glimpse or a scent. But she may still be in the basement. He had to go after her.

"You mean that new girl in our art class?" Lydia asked, pointing over to some tables nearby. "She's right over there."

Isaac's head snapped over to where she was pointing, seeing Nuala talking into her cell phone, propped on top of a table, looking out towards the parking lot for something or someone. Before he knew what he was doing, he was marching towards her with purpose. He heard the end of her sentence, "...okay, I think I see you," before she hung up and put the phone in her pocket.

"What were you doing down there?" Isaac snapped, skipping any greeting.

Her head whipped over to look at him, "What?"

"Don't play dumb," Isaac hissed. "We just saw you down there. What the hell were you up to?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nuala dissuaded him, seeing Scott and the others lagging behind the beta.

Isaac grabbed her upper arm roughly, getting angry, "Do I look stupid to you?"

"Isaac!" Scott reprimanded him, trying to pull him back.

Nuala stared up, wide-eyed at him, "If I were you, I'd let go." He didn't notice her other hand gripping the handle of her large hunting knife stuck in a special holster in the side of her jeans.

"Hey, is there a problem here!?" a male voice broke them up, and the teens looked over to see a ginger bearded man with glasses in a suit walking towards them, angry in the face. Scott and Stiles recognized him as Agent Ulrich that they met with Agent Darcy in the woods when they were looking for Malia's coyote den.

Using the distraction again, Nuala broke out of Isaac's hold and walked towards the man, "It's okay, I got it, Ed."

"Let's go," Ed commanded none too nicely, already walking back towards the parking lot. Nuala followed after him and they got into a nondescript car that drove away from the madness.

"What the hell is going on?" Georgie snapped.

* * *

Peter stared at the wooden box as Derek scooped up his mother's claws to put them inside. "You know, there's always an element of danger to rituals like this. I'm not particularly fond of them. Unless they somehow benefit me."

Derek paused, slightly laughing as if to say 'of course you want something' and asked, "What do you want?"

"I want to keep them," Peter told him, seeing the looks Derek and Marissa were giving him. "Sentimental value. She was your mother, but she was also my sister." Derek still looked skeptical. "What?" Peter got defensive. "Am I not allowed a little bit of sentiment?"

Derek didn't answer, sliding the box across the table towards him, stepping away. Peter stared down into the box, gearing himself up to stick his hand in. His fingers started inching into the cylindrical container. Derek huffed, getting impatient, "Too long," stepping forward and forcing Peter's hand into the jar.

* * *

Georgie reclined on Stiles bed as he not-so-neatly pinned up string after string, muttering to himself. "There's a lot of red strings on the board."

"I know," Stiles muttered.

"Red means unsolved," Georgie pointed out.

"I know that too," Stiles snapped.

"Did you get detention for the fire alarm?" she asked, trying to distract herself from the self-destructive thoughts in her head. For a while, she'd noticed just how close Stiles was to Lydia. She tried not to let it get to her. She tried telling herself that she was with Stiles, that she was closer to him. But for a while, she felt like a passenger, and not a true part of the group. She noticed what kind of team Lydia and Stiles made, and she felt detached from it all, pushed aside, when they got together to solve something.

"Yep," Stiles replied. "Every day this week. It's okay, though. We were onto something."

"We didn't find him though," Georgie mused.

"Lydia's been right every time something like this has happened, okay?" Stiles pointed out to her. "Barrow was there, she knew it, she  _felt_  it."

"They didn't even find a scent," Georgie told him, disheartened to hear him so quickly sticking up for Lydia in the face of no proof. "No scent. No bomb. Nothing."

"I don't care," Stiles turned to her. "She's right about this. I'd go back to that school right now and search all night just to prove it."

"Stiles..." Georgie sighed, running a hand through her hair, "do you still have feelings..."

But he wasn't listening as something occurred to him, "Get up."

"What?" Georgie stopped short, being abruptly interrupted.

"Get up now," Stiles told her. "We're going to the school."

* * *

Peter pursed his lips as he looked at his sister's nails on his hand, "Not exactly my color. This is going to be excruciatingly painful."

Derek was sitting backwards on a chair, Marissa sitting right in front of him, "Just do it."

"Oh, I'm going to," Peter smirked. "I just wanted you to know we all have our petty revenge." With that, he stabbed the claws into Derek's neck without preamble.

* * *

Allison clicked through the bestiary in her father's office, searching for something connected to flies that could tell them something about Barrow and whatever he was planning. But the words began to blur together as the night got darker outside her window.

She sighed, again wishing that Jessie was back. She'd be able to keep them fighting. Even when she felt defeated, she still fought. She gave Allison the endurance she needed to keep going with all of this. And she also wanted to know what it felt like to be friends with her again, since she had forgiven her. But, whenever she was feeling like this, she remembered Jessie's words in her letter.

_We all pulled the short stick in life, but we just need to use that stick as a cane and keep walking with it. Some day it'll be better, we'll know what we're doing and truly be able to help people. Some day we'll save someone._

The was a bing from her cell phone and she looked to see a new text from... Jessie. She quickly opened the message with shaking hands, reading two words and two words only.

_It's Kira._

* * *

Scott and Isaac munched on cold pizza in the kitchen, silently. Scott cleared his throat, "What was that back there?"

"What?" Isaac mumbled.

"With the girl," Scott hedged, trying to be subtle. "You got pretty intense just because she was in the basement."

"There's something off with her," Isaac grumbled. "She seems like she knows something. She was in my art class, but transferred out, telling me it was because she sucked at it. But I saw her first painting, she is clearing talented."

"Or you just like her," Scott suggested.

Issac froze, and shook his head, "No."

"It's okay..." Scott started.

But Isaac snapped harshly, "No."

Scott quieted, "Isaac... Jessie..."

"I know," Isaac interrupted him. "I know she's gone, and even if she comes back, she wasn't mine anymore. I know all that. But... it's Jessie. You're her best friend, Scott. You know she's one of the most special people you could ever meet and you don't just forget someone like her."

"I'm not saying to forget her, none of us can do that," Scott told him. "But it's not too soon to move on."

Isaac stared down at his food, not feeling so hungry anymore at the thought of closing the door on him and Jessie forever, "I'm not over her."

Feeling immensely guilty, Scott just nodded, and never brought it up again.

* * *

"What are we doing here?" Georgie shivered after Stiles into the chemistry classroom. Stiles walked right into the back room where all the chemicals were kept, the door wasn't even locked.

Stiles shined his phone's flashlight onto the ground, seeing broken glass and dots of blood on the ground, "He was here, performing very minor surgery on himself."

"The chemicals masked his scent," Georgie realized.

"He was here to kill someone," Stiles stated, walking out of the small room.

"Who?"

"That's what we gotta figure out. We could spread out, start looking for anything." Stiles then noticed three numbers written out on the blackboard. "What are those?"

Georgie stood next to him, noticing the atomic numbers chart on the metal file case next to them, "Atomic numbers? Let's see..." she fingered the chart, looking for the first number... "19 is Potassium... symbol letter K."

Stiles wrote a K next to the number 19.

"Then the next one is I," Georgie said.

"What's the last one?" Stiles asked, chalk still poised up to write the last symbol.

"R-a," Georgie breathed, seeing the name written out.

"Kira," Stiles read out loud.

* * *

Stiles and Georgie rushed out of the jeep in front of Scott's house while he and Isaac raced out of the house. "It's Kira, he was after her the whole time," Stiles rushed out.

Lydia's car parked next to the jeep, Stiles having called her from the car while they headed to Scott's, much to Georgie's chagrin.

Meanwhile, Georgie's phone buzzed in her pocket and she picked it out, answering a call from Allison, "Did you find something?"

"Nothing, just stuff about flies and the dead," Allison told her. "But I got a text from Jessie that said it's Kira."

"You got a text from Jessie?" Georgie asked.

At the sound of her name, Isaac and Scott's hearts nearly stopped. Scott missed the suspicious look Isaac gave him after hearing his heartbeat stutter.

"She says it's Kira," Georgie reiterated from Allison, going back to her phone. "We know it's her. Keep looking okay, and update us soon."

"Okay," Allison said, hanging up.

"We have to think of something," Scott insisted. "He's going to kill her."

"I knew he was there," Lydia whispered. "How did I know that?"

"Because you heard the flies, right?" Stiles reminded her.

"What do you hear now?" Scott asked her.

She shook her head, dismayed, "Nothing. I feel like I can do this. But I don't know what to do. It's like it's on the tip of my tongue, and I don't know how to trigger it." She sighed in frustration and faced away from them, "I just—I swear to God, it literally makes me want to scream."

Something occurred to Stiles then. Banshees were known as wailing supernatural beings. Their screams predicted death. "Okay, then scream." He turned to her back, "Lydia, scream."

Lydia sucked in a breath and let out a shrill scream that echoed supernaturally off the night air, being heard beyond the scope of Beacon Hills, being heard by someone they hadn't intended to hear it.

When the sound dissipated, Lydia heard a faint buzzing in her ears, her eyes trailing upwards towards the lit street lights, "It's not flies. It's electricity."

"Wait a second, Barrow was an electrical engineer," Stiles said. "He worked at a power substation."

"What substation?" Scott asked eagerly.

* * *

Stiles, Georgie, Lydia and Isaac rode in the jeep while Scott rode alongside them on his bike. The wolves ran to the ready, and Stiles gripped his bat and ran out, telling the girls to stay in the car, "Just wait for the cops to come."

"Wait, why?" Lydia whined.

"I only got one bat," he shrugged, running out.

Georgie ran after him. He gave her a look. She looked back at him, "I'm a witch, remember? I don't need a bat."

* * *

Scott was the first one in, telling Isaac to search another part of the place. He saw Kira tied to a fence, crying, "Scott! Look out!"

He saw Barrow at the last minute before the lunatic zapped him with a frayed electrical wire. The force sent Scott reeling into another fence, weakened. "Don't! She's not—she's not the one you want," Scott wheezed as Barrow approached Kira with the wires charged with electricity.

"No! Don't! Stop!" Scott yelled as Barrow pressed the wire to her skin.

Stiles and Georgie ran in just as a electrical explosion shook the foundation of the place. Seeing blue charges heading for them, she lifted her hands up, smoke shooting from her palms and pushing the charges and the debris away from them. Stiles stared at her in wonder, rarely seeing her use her full power. But he didn't know that didn't even come close to her full power.

When the dust settled, the couple and Scott watched in shock and awe as the blue and yellow electric charges got sucked into Kira's hands, none of it touching her or hurting her as Barrow laid charred at her feet.

She looked just as shocked as they did.

* * *

Stiles and Georgie walked around to look for Isaac before the police got there, finding him passed out on the ground. Georgie rushed forward, feeling his neck for a pulse, and was shocked and scared to find his skin so cold, "Isaac!? Isaac, wake up."

"Isaac?" Stiles bend over his head.

Georgie felt his neck and head, "Stiles, he's freezing. We need to trigger the healing process."

Stiles sighed through his nose, punching Isaac in the face. He jerked awake with a growl, his eyes glowing yellow, before he reduced into tears and scared whimpers, "Did you see them?"

"Who?" Georgie asked.

He panted, "There were five of them... they wore black. I couldn't—I couldn't see their faces. They were covered."

"Like, what?" Stiles asked. "Like masks?"

"One of them..." Isaac shivered, "I could see his eyes. They were greenish-yellow. Like a... like a a firefly. It was like they came out of the shadows."

"We need to warm him up," Stiles muttered, nearly feeling the ice cold radiate off of Isaac.

"I got it," Georgie said, ignoring Stiles jealous look as she wrapped her arms around Isaac.

Isaac slowly stopped shivering as he felt warmth emanate back into his body from her arms, "How... how are you doing that?"

"There some stuff about my powers you guys haven't seen yet," Georgie answered vaguely.

* * *

_They're back, Chris. The Oni are in Beacon Hills._

Chris Argent stared at his phone, not recognizing the number but somehow knowing it was the Demi-Cruore. It was Jessie Hansen warning him. But he couldn't let the others know just yet. He had to find out what they were after—because they could be after him.


	7. Tensions Rise

Agent McCall leaned back against the Sheriff's desk, scribbling onto a notepad. Stiles and Georgie sat with Scott and Kira on a couch while Lydia sat off on a chair. Georgie and Stiles had put Isaac in the jeep to hide him when the cops arrived. He was still there, asleep. Georgie gripped Stiles hand, a little freaked out at what happened to the other werewolf.

"So, when did you get there?" Agent McCall asked.

"At the same time," Stiles answered.

"At the same time as who?" McCall asked.

Scott pointed to himself, "At the same time as me."

"By coincidence?"

Stiles and Scott looked at each other, Stiles feigning confusion, "What do you mean coincidence?"

McCall looked skeptically at the boy, "That's what I'm asking you. The three of you arrived at the same time. Was that a coincidence?"

Scott pursed his lips, "Are you asking me?"

"I think he's asking me," Stiles told his friend.

"He's asking me," Georgie played along.

"I think he's asking all of you," Lydia speculated.

"Okay, let me answer the questions," McCall said, pausing as he realized what he said under the looks of the teenagers in front of him. He sighed, "Let me  _ask_  the questions. Just so I have this absolutely clear. Barrow was hiding in the chemistry closet at the school. Someone left him a coded message on the blackboard telling him to kill Kira. Then Barrow took Kira to a power substation and tied her up with the intent of electrocuting her, which blacked out the entire town."

"Sounds about right," Stiles nodded.

"How did you know he'd take her to a power station?" McCall asked the boy.

Stiles scratched his face, "Well, 'cause he was an electrical engineer. So, where else would he take her?"

"That's one hell of a deduction there, Stiles," McCall looked suspicious.

Stiles smirked, "Yeah, what can I say? I take after my pops. He's in law enforcement." He winked at his dad who couldn't hold back his snort, covering it with a cough when McCall gave him a look.

"Stiles," the Sheriff chided, "just... uh, just answer the man."

Stiles deflated, "We made a good guess."

McCall looked back at the Sheriff, "You believe this?"

"To be honest, I haven't believed a word Stiles has said since he learned how to speak," he answered in amusement, growing serious as he continued. "But I think these kids found themselves in the right place at the right time, and that girl sitting there is very lucky for it."

McCall looked at the scared looking girl, "Kira, is that how you remember it?"

Kira looked at Scott, as Georgie, Stiles and Lydia all leaned forward expectantly for her answer. She shuffled in her seat, "Yes. Could I get my phone back now?"

She eyed her phone wrapped in a plastic evidence bag as McCall answered her, "Sorry, but no."

The teens lined out of the office, McCall resting a hand on Kira's mid-back before pointing out a deputy to her, "Kira, this deputy is going to take you home. But we'll need you to fill out some paperwork first."

She nodded, her eyes still trained on the man who was taking her phone into a secure room.

As Scott made his leave, his dad stopped him, "Scott... I don't know why you guys are lying. Or why Stilinski is content to listen to this crap. But try and remember something. If half this story about Barrow is true, then not only did someone help set him loose, but he was a pawn in their little game. A mass murderer is bad enough. A mass murderer being controlled by someone? Far worse."

"Yeah, I get it," Scott nodded, walking away, yet really thinking about it.

* * *

Teenagers littered the halls of the High School as Coach shouted through a megaphone, marching towards his office, "Class starts in five minutes. Just because there's no power, don't expect there to be no school."

"That was a triple negative," Stiles called after him. "Very impressive, Coach."

"Copy that," he blared.

Georgie walked up to him, "Hey."

Stiles smiled at her, "Hey," and leaned down to peck her lips. "Why'd you go to your place last night? It was pretty late, I wouldn't have minded if you stayed over... since you've been doing that for the last month and a half pretty much."

"About that..." Georgie started just as Stiles' key dropped to the ground.

He bent over to pick them up, noticing a nondescript key that shouldn't be with them, "Hello. Where did you come from?" He faced her, holding up the key, "Is this yours?"

She gaped at him, a little incredulous that he was interrupting her again, "No, it's not mine."

"Well, it's not mine..." he shrugged, just as he noticed Scott walk in and eye Kira, who turned away from him towards her locker. Scott went to talk to her but Stiles threw his arm out to stop him, "No, no. Stop."

"What?" Scott asked him. "I need to talk to her."

"No, you need to remember someone left a coded message telling Barrow to kill her," Stiles told him.

"Which is why I need to talk to her," Scott pointed out.

"Scott, no way." Stiles argued. "Until we figure out if she's just another psychotic monster that's going to start murdering everybody, I vote against any and all interaction."

"Well, I don't," Georgie stated, starting to walk towards the girl.

Stiles reached his hand out to grab her wrist, "Where do you think you're going?"

"To talk to her," Georgie snapped at him. "Maybe  _she'll_  actually listen."

With that she walked away, Stiles gaping after her. Scott smirked at the exchange, "Dude, what did you do?"

"What?" Stiles shook his head. "Me? I didn't do anything."

"Obviously, you did something," Scott told him. "Otherwise she wouldn't be so pissed at you."

Kira had just closed her locker when she saw a girl with brown hair just passed her shoulders walk up to her, "Hey, Kira. I'm Georgie, you remember me?"

Kira nodded shyly, "Yeah, yeah, I do."

"Then you probably remember what I saw you do," Georgie replied gently, not trying to intimidate the girl. "And what you saw me do."

Kira vaguely remembered dark smoke coming out of the other girl's hands last night during the explosion of electricity. "Yeah..." she mumbled.

"Look, we're obviously not the same, but we're not so different either," Georgie said. "Do you wanna talk about it at lunch? I may be able to help."

Kira thought it over, and then nodded, smiling happily, "I'd like that."

* * *

Ethan slipped on his shorts in the locker room when he heard Danny talking on the phone, "Don't you have portable generators or something? It's a black light party. It's not like you need a ton of power... okay. Yeah, I get it."

Danny slammed his locker shut, turning to leave when Ethan stepped in his way, "Black light party?"

"More like canceled party," Danny sighed. "The venue I booked won't have power for at least another day."

"You want help finding a new place?" Ethan offered.

"What's the point? Nothing in town's going to have power," Danny deflated. "Thanks anyway."

Danny walked off, soon facing Ethan with his freshly showered twin, "You want to throw a Halloween party? What's next? You gonna join the Yearbook Club?"

"Just trying to do something nice," Ethan told him.

"Why?" Aiden asked him, not getting the point. "Who cares?"

"He does," Ethan answered.

Aiden scoffed but Ethan ignored it, "You don't get it, do you? Scott doesn't care about power. He cares about people. You want to be a wolf in his pack? Try being a human in high school."

* * *

Aiden thought his best bet at humanity was Lydia so he slid in next to her in their biology class. Miss Martin's high heels clicked as she stopped by her daughter's, Lydia's, lab station, "Sweetheart, since this is my first class and I haven't taught in five years, I just want to remind you of one thing. Try not to embarrass me."

Lydia purse her lips, hiding her amusement, "You should've thought about that before wearing those shoes." Miss Martin eyed her shoes with concern, then saw Lydia's shit-eating grin, "Love you."

Her mother smiled, "Love you, too." And then walked off to begin class.

"Why's your mom teaching biology?" Aiden asked Lydia after she left.

"Because Mr. Harris used to teach biology," Lydia huffed. "Until his new occupation... human sacrifice."

Aiden looked at her, affronted, "What? I didn't kill him."

Lydia scoffed, looking away and frowning.

"Lydia, what?" Aiden goaded her.

She faced him, expression solemn, "The other night, I helped save someone's life. That felt really good. And I look at you, and all I can think is that you helped kill Baako." Aiden frowned deeply at the harsh, harsh truth. "You're not just a bad boy, Aiden. You're a bad guy. And I don't want to be with the bad guys."

She had turned away from him and something in him finally snapped. He turned to face Danny behind them, getting his attention, "I think I know a place where you can have your party."

* * *

Georgie and Kira had decided to eat lunch in a vacant hallway. Kira didn't want to face Scott out of embarrassment and Georgie wanted to talk to the girl away from prying ears. Georgie sat down in a lump and started munching on her food for a few minutes before she finally spoke, "So, you can control electricity?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Kira mumbled.

"Well, I control smoke," Georgie offered. "I should be able to control fire, you know. But the way it works, if your family line is shamed, then you lose the full power of your element. If you're water, you become steam. If you're earth, you become heat. If you're air, you become a weak breeze. If you're fire, you become smoke. I don't know who in my family shamed the line but someone who was fire lost their right to be fire, and now it's up to me to earn it back."

Kira stared at the girl, honestly astonished, "Wow."

Georgie nodded, "I know, right? So, you can see we're not all that different. I'm smoke, you're electricity. You've got the spark I don't."

"I still don't want to talk about it," Kira sighed, going back to her food.

"We've all got issues, Kira," Georgie told her quietly. "Not even just the supernatural ones." She saw Kira glance at her out of the corner of her shy eyes, and took that as a sign to go on. "I see the way you look at Scott."

Kira blushed deeply in shame, ducking her head.

"It's okay," Georgie tried to comfort her. "But I just have to warn you, he's going through something with someone else," she warned, thinking of Jessie. She didn't want to see this sweet girl get hurt. "I know it sucks to like someone who doesn't look at you."

"You have Stiles," Kira protested in a small voice. "You don't know..."

"I'm pretty sure he's still in love with Lydia Martin, though," Georgie corrected her. "I felt so... optimistic, when he chose me. He was looking at  _me_  for the first time in years, not her. But lately, for a while actually, I see how close they are. I see him look at her, talk to her, stand up for her. They're like this team, and there's no room for anyone else. Least of all me."

Kira saw how the turn of conversation saddened the first girl who had been truly nice to her here. "I'm sure they're just friends..."

"He was obsessed with her since third grade," Georgie cut her off. "You don't just switch to someone else after that kind of infatuation. And I've tried to bring it up, I've tried to talk to him about it. But every time I do, something comes up and he interrupts me and it's forgotten. And I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with it. I feel like we're just kidding ourselves being in this relationship. And he has no clue that something's wrong with us."

They were quiet for a while. Georgie had no intentions of going that deep with the new girl, but it was like all her thoughts and insecurities came pouring out when she'd been holding them back too long.

"Do you have your phone?" Kira broke the silence. "I'm going to show you something no one else has ever seen. No one except Barrow."

Georgie regarded her warily, before taking out her phone.

Kira turned so she was facing her, "Take a picture of me. And use the flash."

Georgie set up her phone and took the picture, the bright light flashing in Kira's eyes before the photo was taken. She looked at her phone and gaped curiously at it. Around Kira's form in the picture was some kind of yellow aura, waving around her like flames.

"It started showing up a couple of months ago," Kira told her. "It only happens with the flash on. And I don't know how, but Barrow knew about it. He used my own phone to take pictures of me."

Georgie looked at her, sensing the urgency, "Your phone is in evidence lock up."

Kira nodded, "If someone sees those pictures..."

"We're in trouble," Georgie breathed. "We need to get that phone."

* * *

Nuala looked around the cafeteria at lunch that day, not looking forward to being confronted by Isaac again. She couldn't exactly tell him she was looking for Barrow in that basement. And she didn't think he'd let it go just because Barrow got caught. But as she looked around, she saw Scott and Stiles sitting at a table sans Isaac. And she saw that hunter girl and the banshee sitting off on their own without Isaac. She didn't see Stiles' girlfriend anywhere to be found. Or Isaac for that matter.

For some reason, that struck worry in her. From her sister, she knew something else was on it's way to Beacon Hills. So, without really thinking about the repercussions of her actions, she stood up and made her way to Scott and Stiles' table, sitting down next to the True Alpha with her tray and all, "Hey. I'm Nuala."

Scott and Stiles gaped at her, instantly recognizing her from the other day. Stiles stammered, "He—hey. Stiles." He pointed to himself, then his best friend, "Scott."

"Jessie," Scott pointed to the empty space on his other side. Both boys exchanged wide eyed looks, Stiles giving Scott a look that said 'nice going' and Scott having more of an 'oh shit' kind of look.

"Huh?" Nuala hummed, confused.

"Sorry, habit," Scott coughed awkwardly. "Jessie's our best friend. She's been... away."

"Right," Nuala murmured. "What about Isaac? He's not here today?"

"He's sick," Stiles said quickly, darting his eyes back to Scott.

"Right," Nuala murmured again. "Will he be back tomorrow? I'd like to talk to him about the other day."

Stiles gulped, "I don't know."

"I'll let him know though," Scott offered. "He lives with me."

"Are you guys related?" Nuala asked skeptically. In the short bios she got from Dechtire, she didn't mention anything relation between Scott and Isaac other than them being pack mates.

"No, but he doesn't have any family, so..." Scott explained awkwardly.

"That's sad," Nuala mumbled. "I know how that goes. It's just me and my sister now."

"Right," Stiles didn't seem all that impressed, giving the state of most of their families nowadays. "You're a girl right?"

Nuala's eyes widened at the turn of conversation, "Last I checked, yeah."

Stiles swallowed, coughing to cover up his embarrassment, "My girlfriend's pissed at me and I have no idea why."

"I wondered why she wasn't sitting with you guys," Nuala admitted. "What did you do?"

"I don't know!" Stiles sighed exasperatedly.

"You did something," Nuala stated, Scott nodding next to her.

"Today, she made some remark about someone else listening," Stiles hedged.

"Okay, so that's it," Nuala told him. "She feels like you're not listening to her about something serious. Has she tried to talk to you about something and gotten interrupted?"

" _Stiles..." Georgie sighed, running a hand through her hair, "do you still have feelings..."_

" _About that..." Georgie started just as Stiles' key dropped to the ground._

_He bent over to pick them up, noticing a nondescript key that shouldn't be with them, "Hello. Where did you come from?" He faced her, holding up the key, "Is this yours?"_

_She gaped at him, "No, it's not mine."_

Stiles inwardly cursed himself, "There were valid interruptions."

Nuala shook her head, "Not valid enough if what she wants to talk about is serious. You should probably talk to her about it, make sure there are no interruptions."

"Like that's possible," Stiles snorted, thinking of the craziness of the past week.

"Make it possible," Nuala told him.

* * *

Georgie went to find Stiles after the bell rang to let them out of school. She found him at his locker. He immediately closed it when he saw her, "Hey! I'm glad you're here."

She cut him off this time, "I need your help with something."

"Um, what is it?" Stiles asked slowly.

Georgie looked around the crowded hallway, and then leaned closer to him to speak softly so as not to be heard, "I need to steal Kira's phone from evidence lock up."

Stiles gaped at her, "Are you crazy?"

"Possibly," Georgie admitted. "There are pictures of her that she doesn't want anyone to see."

"What kind of pictures?" Stiles asked, making an uncomfortable face.

Georgie gave him a look, willing him to get her implication, even if it was a false one.

"Oh," Stiles mumbled, " _Oh!_ " he starred at her dumbly, "Those kinds of... pictures."

Georgie snapped her fingers in front of his face to startle him out of his naked girl thoughts, "Can you help us get in or not? I have a spell that can fog up the cameras but I'm not skilled enough to get passed security locks."

Stiles thought on it, "Okay... when do we go?"

" _She and I,_ " Georgie emphasized, "are going tonight when the day guards leave. You're not going anywhere near this."

"You said you needed my help," Stiles protested.

"I do," Georgie agreed. "But Stiles, your dad is under investigation and you told me your stunts last year landed him in indefinite suspension. You can't take that kind of risk that could cost him his job. Just me and her, in and out, and we're gone. I can smoke us out if someone happens upon us, but I can rarely transport more than one person. It takes a lot of focus."

"Then at least let me be lookout," Stiles offered. "Me just being at the station won't be all that suspicious, I'm the Sheriff's son."

"Fine," Georgie sighed. "If it looks like we're gonna get caught, you need to just leave. I have ways of getting myself out if I have to."

"Do you have time now?" Stiles asked. "Can we talk?"

Georgie felt her heart plummet to her stomach at that sentence. She hated that sentence. But she nodded numbly and followed him outside to where their cars were parked. She crossed her arms defensively in front of her as some sort of armor.

"I'm an idiot," she didn't expect him to start with that, but it was still a bad start. She looked at him with confusion and he continued, "You've been trying to talk to me about something and I've been too stupid and preoccupied with everything that's been going on to notice."

Georgie let her arms fall to her sides, "Um, yeah."

"What is it?" Stiles implored, stepping closer to her. "Is something... wrong?"

She couldn't help but nod, feeling all the feelings she's built up inside herself wanting to pour out in the form of tears welling up in her eyes.

Stiles stepped closer, seeing her struggle. He cupped her face in his hands and questioned her softly, "What is it?"

She sucked in a shaky breath, "Are you still in love with Lydia?"

"What?" Stiles asked instantly in shock, like he'd been slapped. "No. What would make you think that?"

"I see the way you are around her," Georgie whispered. "It's like no one else is there but her. Am I just some kind of consolation prize?"

"Of course not," Stiles rushed to assure her, holding her face in his hands more firmly. "My feelings for Lydia have definitely changed since everything started here. And then I met you again and everything finally went my way for once. I got the girl I wanted."

A tear made it's escape from the corner of her eye and he reached over with his thumb to wipe it away, "I promise it's only you. If I seem to pay attention to Lydia it's because we're friends, and she has a way to fight what's going on here."

"It's just... you can't erase those kinds of feelings overnight," Georgie murmured helplessly.

"It didn't happen overnight," he admitted. "But it started before we got together, and it's ended. I swear I'm over the freakin' moon for you."

"Really?" Georgie asked in the smallest voice he'd think possible.

To prove it, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, trying to pour every emotion and reassurance he could into the kiss. Georgie felt every ounce of it lift her heart from it's cave in her stomach. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pressed her into the side of his jeep.

He pulled away when it became hard to breath, laying his forehead against hers, "Really."

Georgie smiled, "I believe you."

* * *

Derek and Marissa went candy shopping, knowing some kids would show up for the holidays. He pulled his car into the parking space outside his loft building and looked at the quiet Marissa stewing in the seat next to him, "Still mad at me?"

"Yes."

Derek sighed, "I swear, I had only been back for a few minutes. I was going to come see you after I reattached Peter's finger."

"And after you stuck yourself inside your dead mother's consciousness with her claws," Marissa tacked on, still stewing.

"Yeah..." Derek replied lamely.

"It's not like I was going out of my mind with worry since you stopped checking in or anything," Marissa snapped at him sarcastically. "It's not like I stooped as low as to track down Deucalion and get him to track down the bounty hunter he scarred to find you guys. It's not like I'm pregnant and it's yours!"

Derek's head snapped over to look at her, face devoid of any emotion other than shock, his voice low when he asked, "What?"

Marissa faced him with unrelenting determination, "I'm a month along."

"Are you sure?" Derek asked, his voice getting smaller under the weight of what she was telling him.

"I'm a med student, of course I'm sure," Marissa snapped at him. "Do you realize now why I've been going so crazy over you being gone? I can't do this alone, Derek."

Derek roughly opened his door, not bothering to shut it closed before storming over to her side of the car and ripping open her door. She had taken off her seat belt and turned her body to face his, still sitting inside the car. He stood there, staring at her and then staring at her still flat stomach. He trained all of his senses, and couldn't sense anything different other than a slight spike in her scent. "I don't hear anything."

"It won't get a heartbeat for another two weeks," Marissa told him softly. "I noticed the signs after you went radio silent. I got Melissa to run my blood off the record. People know we're together, I didn't want to tip off any hunters about this."

"Good idea," Derek mumbled, not really caring. He was still staring at her stomach, his hand itching to reach out and hold the baby inside of it. Marissa saw this, and reached out for his hand, laying his palm flat on her stomach, placing both of hers over his hand. He couldn't feel anything yet. But he wasn't going to doubt her, and was in awe of the fact that a piece of him and her, a new member of his broken and charred family, was in the process of growing within her.

"What are we going to do, Derek?" Marissa asked, very terrified.

"I don't know," he whispered to her, truly not knowing where to start. He looked down into her eyes, and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her body closer to his, "But we'll figure it out. I promise."

She nodded sternly – or so she hoped – and nearly lost her breath when he leaned down and smashed his lips to hers so suddenly. She responded with passion, trapping his bottom lip between hers and pressing herself closer to him.

Just as suddenly as they had started, he had stopped. He froze above her, leaning away with a look of concentration and suspicion on his face. He looked around to his side just as five shadowy figures appeared around them. They had thick black robes on, with silver masks that idly reminded Marissa of those symbolic masks of Greek drama.

Derek turned his back to her to face these... things, keeping her behind him, ready to fight off anything to protect her and their future.


	8. In the Cold

Georgie and Kira hopped out of the jeep once Stiles pulled up to the precinct. He didn't bother getting out of the car, rolling the window down to hand Georgie a white card with a magnetic strip on it, "Okay, this one will get you into all of the perimeter doors," he handed her another one, "This one into the evidence room," and another one, "And this one's for my father's office."

"Babe, did you steal these?" Georgie asked him sternly.

"Psh, no," he snorted, but shrunk under her glare, "I cloned them using the RFID emulator."

Georgie gaped at him, "I didn't want you to commit a federal crime, Stiles."

"I'd do anything for you," Stiles shrugged it off, feeling pride at Georgie's blush. "So, now almost everybody's out dealing with the blackout. But there's always somebody at the front desk, chances are you know them. There's dispatch and usually a night shifter or two. You guys have to use the service door entrance by the dumpster. All right? Nobody uses it. I'll text you if anyone comes out."

"But you'd better leave if things get hairy," Georgie warned him. "I'm serious, Stiles."

"I know," Stiles sighed. "But I don't know if it'll make much of a difference to them if it's the Sheriff's son or the Sheriff's son's girlfriend caught breaking into the evidence room."

"I'm a witch, I'll handle it if it happens," Georgie assured him. "I would never put your dad's job in further jeopardy."

"I know you wouldn't," he agreed. "Just hurry up."

* * *

Georgie and Kira stayed hunched low as the witch used the first key card to let themselves in through the service door. They ducked when a night shifter walked through the room full of desks and computers. Kira held her breath and Georgie led her into the evidence room with the other key.

"Okay, look for the phone," Georgie whispered, the two girls taking a side of the room to look through the bags of evidence. Georgie paused when her eyes fell on a yellow camera phone, "Got it."

Kira crawled over on her knees to open the bag and pull out her phone. She frowned when she saw the red battery bar when she tried to turn it on, "It's dead."

"Thought of that," Georgie murmured, pulling out a portable charger from her jacket pocket. She plugged it into the phone and they waited for it to charge enough to turn on.

"Come on, come on," Kira murmured to the phone, urging it to charge faster.

* * *

Outside, Stiles messed with his keys ring when he saw headlights in front of him. He squinted and saw that it was Agent McCall getting out of his car.

"Oh hell," Stiles cursed, getting out his phone to text Georgie to get out of there. She wasn't replying. "I'm so going to regret this," he whispered to himself, getting out of his jeep and chasing McCall into the precinct, "Aw! Hey, hey, wow! Thank God you are here. Oh, boy, thank the lord." He walked in front of McCall, blocking his way further towards the evidence room.

Georgie's head snapped up when she heard Stiles' voice and she cursed, "Shit," when she saw him and McCall. "Hurry up."

"It's not on yet," Kira told her, glaring at her phone.

Stiles nervously faced the non-impressed FBI Agent in front of him as he deadpanned, "What do you want?"

Stiles laughed nervously, "Oh, jeez," stammering, "I was just... I was thinking on the case."

"We gotta get out of here," Kira whispered urgently. "Let's just take it."

"No, he'll know it's gone the second he gets in here," Georgie told her. "Delete the pics and let's go."

"I was thinking I should clue you in on my thinking," Stiles continued. "Here's my thinking. I was thinking this... I was thinking that Barrow, right... I was thinking that Barrow received the information about who to kill at the school, right, you know? So, I was thinking maybe the person who gave him that information, check this out, might actually be someone at the school. And that's," he ended lamely, "uh, my thinking."

"Hmmm," McCall hummed.

Kira's phone beeped quietly the screen lighting up, "It's on."

"Good, now hurry up and delete the pictures," Georgie rushed her.

"You're right," McCall told Stiles.

Stiles gaped at him, not expecting that to say the least, "I am?"

McCall nodded, "Yep. We, uh... we started looking for links between Barrow, faculty and students last night."

Stiles let his arms fall to his sides, "So, you already, then, know that stuff... You already thought of that."

"Your dad did," McCall admitted.

"Oh," Stiles perked a little at that.

"His one useful suggestion," and that made the boy deflate.

Kira selected all the pictures Barrow took of her and hit 'delete selected' watching them disappear. "It's done."

"Turn it off," Georgie warned her, taking the charger out of it and pocketing it.

Kira did so and put the phone back in it's bag and where Georgie had found it. She felt Georgie take hold of her shoulders and whisper, "Hold your breath."

She did so and watched in rapt fascination as a trail of smoke slowly lifted off their bodies and their surroundings disappeared.

Not knowing they were safe, and somewhat not caring, Stiles still stepped in front of McCall, his expression darkening, "You know, this attitude that you have towards my dad? You can dress it up as all the professional disapproval that you want. But I know the real reason why you don't like him."

McCall chuckled skeptically, "Is that so?"

"Yeah. Because he knows something that you don't want him to know. And guess what," his voice got lower, almost threateningly, "I know it, too."

McCall's face dropped, all his composure melting away, "Go home, Stiles. There's a... there's a curfew."

Stiles numbly let McCall pass him, making his way out of the station where Georgie and Kira were waiting by the jeep.

"In and out, just like I said," Georgie greeted him with a kiss.

Kira was smiling like she'd won a medal for something, "That was awesome! I mean, terrifying. Completely terrifying... but kind of awesome. I've never done anything like that before. Have you?"

Georgie smirked at her boyfriend as he answered, "Yeah, once or twice."

Stiles looked down at Georgie, "You still wanna go to that party tonight?"

Georgie smirked, slowly unzipping her hoodie to reveal and neon yellow bando paired with her light blue shorts, and nothing else, perfectly exposing her flat stomach pierced with a belly button ring. Stiles gulped at the sight, "I didn't know you had that..."

"Now you do," Georgie stated smugly. She turned her head to Kira, "You wanna come? It'll be fun, meet new people, boys..."

Kira blushed, "Sure."

* * *

Scott convinced Isaac to come to the party since the consequences of whatever that happened to him ebbed away. The two stalked up to the door of Derek's loft, feeling the thumping of the rave music, and opened the door to see the writhing, dancing, painted, glowing bodies crowding the makeshift dance floor. Isaac looked at Scott and shouted, "Derek can never know about this!"

"Agreed," Scott gulped.

Elsewhere, Danny and Ethan looked around the party with large smiles. Ethan has luminescent red claw marked painted on his chest, and he looked at Danny hopefully, "You happy?"

"Very," Danny smiled back at him.

"Good," Ethan smirked. "Now it's my time to be happy." He pulled the other boy over to where a girl with a glowing Mohawk set up a painting station. "This one needs to get painted up."

She eyed Danny up and down, "Face or body?"

Danny looked inquisitively at Ethan, who eyed him hungrily and then reached to rip Danny's shirt off of his body with one decisive tug. "Body."

"I need ice!" the bartender near them called out.

Danny looked concerned but Ethan patted his shoulder, "I got it," walking away.

* * *

Ethan made his way down into the lower levels of the building, knowing there was a cold room with bags of ice stored away for the party. He made it to the closeted space and turned on the hanging light bulb above him. He picked up only one bag when the light went out.

He stared up at it, reaching to twist the bulb until it lit back on. He went back to picking up bags of ice when it went out again. He tugged of the metal string a few times before it weakly lit up again, but this time he saw five masked figures surrounding him. He heard the door slam before they accosted him and everything went cold and gray.

* * *

"It just showed up there on my key ring this morning," Stiles explained to Georgie as they made their way into the party. "I asked my dad if he put it there but he said he didn't know anything about it."

"It's just a key, Stiles," Georgie sighed.

"Yeah, but it's not mine," he pointed out. "And I don't know how it got there or what it's for."

"You want to leave so we can figure it out?" Georgie offered.

Stiles stared down at her body. She had left her jacket in the car. Her blue shorts and yellow bando and even her belly ring glowed under the black light. He definitely didn't want to leave, "No way."

Georgie smirked, interlocking their fingers before looking at Kira, "What do you wanna do?"

Kira shrugged helplessly, totally out of her depth at this kind of scene. Just then, a shirtless guy with intricate glowing paint on his chest walked up to her, speaking into her ear, "Wanna dance?"

Kira looked at the cute boy and nodded, letting herself be pulled into the crowd. Not before exchanging a smile with Georgie.

Stiles then pulled Georgie into the throng of people. But Georgie had another idea, pulling him over to the painting station. She tapped the girl on her shoulder, "Can you help me finish off my outfit?"

The girl looked her up and down and nodded with a smile, "Sure thing, sweetheart."

Stiles simply watched with lust in his eyes as the girl brushed the paint over his girlfriend's nearly bare body.

Isaac and Scott stood at the edge of the crowd, watching over like hawks. Isaac froze when he noticed the new girl, Nuala, dancing in the middle. She wore a tight black corset with black leather shorts. Her long hair was pulled up into a high pony-tail and her body was painted in swirls of glowing red designs.

"I'll be back, man," Isaac tapped Scott's shoulder before marching through the crowd.

Nuala smirked when she noticed him heading for her, raising her voice to speak to him when he got to her, "Come to interrogate me again?"

Isaac regarded her nervously, "Sorry about that."

She shrugged it off, "It's okay. Gotta admit, I wasn't being very discreet down there."

"So, you admit it?" Isaac latched onto her confession.

She laughed, "Well, sure I do. I just couldn't let Ed know when you were asking me about it. He'd tell my sister and she'd never let me leave the house again."

"Why were you down there, anyway?" Isaac asked, not noticing how close they were standing to each other.

"I'm the kind of girl who likes to go looking for trouble," she excused herself. "So, when I heard some crazy bomber was loose in the school, naturally I had to go searching for him."

Isaac stared down at her in shock, "I think you might be the crazy one."

"That's yet to be decided," Nuala smirked at him, tugging on his hands so he followed her deeper into the dancing, jumping crowd. "Now, let's dance."

Lydia was making her way through the crowd with Allison in tow to the small space through the broken brick wall where no one was dancing. Out of nowhere, Aiden popped up growling with orange glowing fangs in his mouth. Lydia was not impressed.

Aiden pulled the fangs out, shrugging, "Not as good as the real ones."

"Or as lethal," Lydia shot back at him.

He deflated, but accepted it, "Okay, sure. I deserve that. I deserve basically everything you say about me." He gestured out to the party then, "But, you know, I was pretty instrumental setting this up."

Lydia surveyed the crowd, "All this? If I wanted to go to a rave, I'd get in a time machine and go back to the 90s." With that being said, she started tugging Allison away from him.

In a split second of anger, Aiden let his real fangs out, his eyes glowing blue as he growled.

Stiles and Georgie were in the middle of the dance floor, bodies grinding front to front. Stiles had started dancing like a spider on roller blades before Georgie looped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him flush with herself. He had gulped, place his hands on her waist, and followed her lead. Their lips brushed every once in a while.

"It's getting crowded in here!" Georgie yelled into his ear, leaning up on her toes, pressing her body harder into his.

He gulped, "Yep."

She leaned back and jerked her head over to the corner of the loft with the spiral staircase. He followed the tug of her hand over and let her gently push him to sit down on the steps. He swallowed a giant nervous lump in his throat when she swung her legs on either side of him and slid close to his chest, everything lining up with the right parts. He wrapped his arms around her back as she leaned down to smash her lips to his.

Lydia stood bereft at the side of the party when Allison had been asked to dance. She watched her and the new guy, "Finally," referring to Allison moving on from Scott. She looked over to where Stiles and Georgie were making out, "Awkwardly," and then her eyes fell on Aiden dancing like a stripper between two girls who looked like strippers. "Predictably."

She heard some sort of whooshing sound, whipping her head to see nothing. A guttural growling came from her other side, and she saw a fragmentation of a black robed figure lost in the crowd. It didn't belong, disappearing and reappearing in the same spot. She looked around the party, seeing the identical mirages. "Scott..." the visions snarled at her, muting the music and people around her, "Scott!"

She raced out of the loft, out to a balcony area, no one in sight. She leaned heavily on the large gray side and breathed. But then she felt a cold grip like death encompass her, looking to her right to see the shadowy outline of a gloved hand crawl out of the darkness on the floor, becoming a full figure, silver mask and all. She opened her mouth wide and prepared to scream, but an identical figure appeared behind her, holding it's hand in front of her mouth, and it was like her voice was sucked out of her body.

She whimpered as the thing cupped its hand on the left side of her face, and it was like ice cold shards seeping into her body, sucking all the happiness away.

The party hadn't noticed her absence and nearly did the couple making out on the staircase. Stiles let his hands grip Georgie's thighs tightly. He gasped from loss of contact when she pulled back to speak to him, "I'm staying at your place tonight."

"Okay," he quickly agreed, kissing her again.

She smiled into the kiss but pulled away again, "But I don't feel like sleeping."

Stiles gaped at her and her implication, stammering like a nervous little boy, "O—Okay."

She smiled, leaning down to kiss him harder, grinding in his lap. Stiles flinched when they keys in his pocket dug into his thighs. He pulled back, seeing his girlfriend's confusion, explaining, "My keys are pinching me."

She giggled, "Oops," and he reached into his pocket to pull them out. He paused when he noticed a green glowing thumb print on the mystery key, "What is that?"

"Um, phosphors?" Georgie guessed.

Stiles stared at her blankly, "What are those?"

She giggled at his face, "They're chemicals. They put it in this kind of paint so it glows under UV light."

"How'd that get on the key?" he asked.

Georgie shrugged, "What did you guys do in chemistry today? Maybe you got something on your hands."

Stiles paused, thinking hard, when something dreadful occurred to him, "We have to go."

"What?" Georgie asked incredulously as he lifted her off of him and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the door.

"Trust me, I wanna stay, or just go back to my place," he emphasized. "But we need to go back to the school."

Isaac didn't know how he lost himself in Nuala, but as the music slowed itself, they started rocking sensually together. Their faces grew closer and Nuala reached up to run her hand through his hair. Her hand paused behind his ear and her face grew concerned.

"What?" Isaac asked her. "What's wrong?"

"There's something behind your ear," She said, grabbing his hand to guide her fingers to the raised spot. His face dropped as he felt it. Nuala grabbed his other hand and pulled towards the door, downstairs, "Come on."

They walked into the closet room where there was a mirror on the wall, "Turn to the mirror," she told him. He gazed at the place and saw a black symbol that looked like it had been carved into his skin, "What is that?"

"It looks like the number five," Nuala breathed. "But like, backwards."

There was a slight groan that made Isaac twist his head away from the mirror, "You hear that?"

"No?" Nuala responded as Isaac walked over to the barrels full of ice. She followed and they looked over to see Ethan shivering on the ground. Nuala gasped, pulling Ethan away from the ice with Isaac's help, "He's way too cold." She went to rub the boy's shoulder to warm him when she noticed a symbol behind his ear, "Isaac?" The boy grunted at her and looked to see her twisting Ethan's neck so he could see, "It's the same as yours—exactly the same."

Isaac gulped, ignoring the foreboding feeling in his gut, "We'll deal with that later. Go get help. Or some blankets or something."

Nuala nodded, rushing out of the room. When she was gone, Isaac leaped into action and held Ethan's arm, knowing only one way to help him. He snapped the arm, hearing the bone break and held Ethan down as he transformed and growled in anger and pain.

Upstairs, Aiden and Danny were looking for Ethan. Danny walked out to the balcony and saw Lydia shivering on the ground, "Aiden, over here!"

The werewolf followed him out onto the balcony and was instantly at Lydia side when he noticed her, "Lydia? What happened? What happened to her?"

"I don't know, but she's freezing," Danny frowned, feeling her shoulders. "She's practically hypothermic."

"We gotta get her inside," Aiden said. "Help me."

The two boys carried her back into the party, Danny leading them to a corner, "Over here. There's a heating vent."

Aiden set her on the ground right in front of it and wrapped his arms around her, "Try to find a blanket." Danny ran off to do that.

Aiden looked down at the violently shivering girl as she stared into the nothingness, "Lydia?"

"They came out of the dark," she whispered.

Scott spent the whole night so far, not having fun, but standing off to the side. He was wondering if Jessie would appear to him in this setting, or if he was too distracted to hallucinate about her. He found himself missing her, even if it wasn't really her. He looked forward to any piece of her he could hold onto.

He was scanning the crowd when he saw a vaguely familiar body just standing in the middle of it all. She wasn't dancing or painted, but part of her glowed. Her eyes glowed cobalt blue. Her hair may be longer but he still recognized her face. It was Jessie, glowing eyes and all. She stood in the middle of the crowd, staring back at him. He felt his heart lift up at the vision of her. He figured she'd show up sometime.

She stared back at him with fear – of what, he didn't know. But his smile dropped when someone bumped into her, and she moved, like she was tangible. It was her – the real her.

"Jessie?" he spoke, to himself, but he knew if it was really her, she'd hear it.

She didn't respond but she did react. All it took to convince him that it was really her was the slight twitch in her eye when he said her name.

"Jessie!" he shouted, making his way for her.

His heart fell when she turned around and ran off. But he followed her, keeping his eyes on her back as they raced out of the party room, into the hallways and up a stairwell. "Jessie—wait!"

She didn't, instead opening a heavy door leading to the roof. He was right behind her, but when he got out there, there was no sign of her.

"Jessie!"

* * *

Derek slowly came too on the ground of the abandoned alley next to his loft, reaching up to the sore spot behind his ear, feeling a raised image in his skin. He looked around frantically for Marissa and noticed her unconscious, still in her passenger's seat.

He was on his feet in milliseconds and feeling her face. She was cold, too cold, but had a pulse. With anger deep in his belly, he let his face transform, eyes glow blue, and let out a roar.

* * *

Back up on the roof, Scott heard the roar, "Derek?"

* * *

Derek made his way through the crowd in his loft towards the DJ, but a bouncer type got in his way, "Bro, sorry, The Bloody Beetroot doesn't take requests." Derek smirked at him, going to walk passed him but the guy put a hand on his chest, "Bro, seriously. I said the DJ doesn't take-"

Derek's hand shot up to grip the guy's throat, "He'll take mine," throwing him off to the side and walking up to the DJ table. He flipped the table onto the ground, cutting off the music. This made everyone in the crowd stare at him. He glared at all of them, letting his roar make his voice echo, "GET. OUT!"

There was only a slight hesitation before the crowd all filed out of the place quickly.

Aiden and Danny were pulling Lydia over when the werewolf handed her over to the other boy and said, "Get her out of here."

"Find Scott," she mumbled to him before Danny carried her out.

Nuala and Isaac were lugging a blanket covered Ethan into the room just as Scott walked back in.

Once all those who were leaving had left, all the threatening figures faced Aiden. The werewolf regarded them with caution, "Guys, they're all looking at me. Why are they all looking at me?"

Scott and Derek geared themselves up for a fight.

"Guys?" Aiden implored with fear.

At the same time, Derek and Scott attacked different figures, growling in his animalistic way. Derek swiped and clawed at his target, finally reaching to snap the monster's neck. It paused, not falling down, but instead cracking it's neck back in place and attacking Derek again.

Nuala pushed Ethan onto Allison's shoulders and reached onto her back to pull out a large knife. Isaac stared at her wide eyed but ignored the questions swirling in his head in favor of letting his claws slip out of his fingers, disregarding the exposure risk and growled as one of the dark figures that had attacked him sent his Alpha flying into the wall.

He charged for one but its facing him made him pause. It reached into its chest, drawing out a straight sword's blade from its body. Isaac gulped, just as Nuala ran in front of him, clashing her knife against the sword and dueling the monster. "Nuala, don't!" He shouted to her.

But the figure overpowered her and knocked her to the ground, her head snapping on the floor. "Nuala!" Isaac yelped, running to her side.

Meanwhile, the five figures surrounded Aiden as Allison cried out, "Somebody do something!"

But one of the figures placed its hand on the side of Aiden's head, sucking all the warmth from his body. When it pulled away, he fell to the ground in a heap.

Scott leaped from the floor, his eyes glowing red as his fangs snapped with his growls. They all faced him, but before anything could happen, the sun began to rise, light filling up the loft. As more light filtered through, each dark figure disappeared.

"What the hell were those things?" Scott asked no one in particular.

Allison felt a beep in her pocket as Ethan rushed to his brother. She pulled out her phone and saw a text from... Jessie.

_Your dad's time is up. Go to him now._

"Guys!" Allison called their attention. Scott and Derek flanked her shoulders and looked at the text, only getting more confused.

* * *

Stiles and Georgie crept into the school as daylight broke, walking into the chemistry room. "What are we doing here?" Georgie asked.

Stiles didn't answer, slipping the mystery key perfectly into the lock on the chemistry closet door, opening it with ease. George grew in unease at the sight, "How'd you get a key to the chemistry closet?"

Stiles remembered what Agent McCall said during their questioning. "Barrow was hiding in the chemistry closet at the school. Someone left him a coded message on the blackboard telling him to kill Kira."

Stiles swallowed, approaching the blackboard where the numbers and letters of the message they uncovered still sat. He picked up the chalk and scribbled the same numbers on the left side, the hand writing matched exactly.


	9. The Return of Jessie Hansen

Allison had rushed to her apartment with Scott and Isaac in tow. Derek rushed Marissa to the hospital, hoping Melissa could look at her and tell him if she and the baby would be alright. Nuala had run off after getting her bearings about her and the twins stayed at the loft. When the first three arrived to the apartment, they found Chris bloody, beaten and bruised on the hallway hardwood floor. Allison had freaked out, running to her father's aid immediately.

Now, she was patching him up as he explained himself to them. "They came out of the shadows. One of them, I could see his eyes, like a firefly."

Isaac flinched at the memories of his own experience.

"Dad, do you know what that means?" Allison asked her father, treating the cut on his head.

"I think they might have been after me," Chris admitted. "His eyes were glowing. There was something almost ritualistic about it. Like it was looking right into his soul."

"That's the same thing it did to me," Isaac agreed, his fingers feeling the marking behind his ear.

"The same thing it did to everyone," Allison said.

"Not everyone," Scott corrected her. "They only came after the werewolves."

"And Lydia," Allison added.

"Anyone with a connection to the supernatural," Chris explained.

"But they went after Marissa," Scott argued.

"She's Derek's mate, it counts," Chris told him.

"Then who was the guy they went after in Japan?" Scott asked.

"A kumicho," he stated. "A yakuza boss. It was my first gun deal. I was only 18 and it was supposed to be a simple exchange. Except Gerard left out the minor detail of the buyers being yakuza. He wanted to see if I could adapt in the moment. Testing my ability to improvise."

"Or your ability to survive," Allison interjected bitterly at the mention of her biological grandfather.

"The moment the sun went down it was like they just materialized out of the shadows," Chris continued. "They had swords, not curved like katanas but straight, black steel. Like ninjatos."

"What did they want?" Scott asked him.

"To get to the kumicho," Chris sighed. "They cut down every living thing in their way."

"Did they mark him like they did us?" Isaac wondered.

He shook his head, "Not exactly."

"What was he?" Scott asked after hearing the man had transformed when the robed figured all stabbed him.

Chris didn't seem to know, "I don't know. But there might be someone who does. There were a few others who survived that night. One of them was a man named Katashi. They called him Silverfinger because of an unusual prosthetic. And it looked like he was getting ready to take them all on himself. I've known for a while Katashi was in the country. I spent yesterday tracking him down."

"Didn't look like he wanted to be found," Allison gestured to his injuries.

"Not particularly, no," he agreed.

"You think he knows what they are?" Scott asked hopefully. "Or what they want?"

"Maybe," Chris admitted, not very optimistic.

"What if he doesn't want to talk?" Isaac posed. "What if he doesn't even remember you?"

Chris stood from his desk chair, turning a wooden box on his desk and opening it. He peeled back the cloth inside to reveal the broken pieces of a mask, "He'll remember this."

Scott listened to him speak as he picked up the largest piece of the mask. "I know I didn't kill it. I'm not sure you can. But I slowed it down long enough for us to get out of there."

"What was behind the mask?" Scott asked.

"Darkness," was his solemn answer, "absolute darkness."

"Wait," Isaac perked up, "we never told you what happened to me. And you don't have the mark on you. If they didn't attack you—how did you know they were here?"

Chris looked at the three teenagers who were eagerly awaiting his answer. He didn't want to get their hopes up, but he couldn't lie to them. "I was tipped off by an unlikely ally."

"Who, dad?" Allison pressured him, not wanting vague answers.

"Jessie Hansen."

* * *

Before school, Scott went home to change. When he entered his bedroom, Jessie was there on the bed. This time he knew it was his mirage of her because she was dressed up, like their Winter Formal, makeup and all. He thought she was beautiful that night too. He immediately needed to confront her about the rave, "I saw you last night. You—you were there. It was really you I know that."

"I know," she nodded. "I know what you know, Scott."

"Why would you come back and not come back to us?" Scott asked, feeling hurt and angry. "Why stay away?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe seek me out? Confess your feelings to the real thing and you'll stop seeing me."

"I don't want to!" he raised his voice, his emotions running on high.

Jessie stared at him gently, accepting his anger.

He started breathing deeply, "If you're here, and you're not really back... then maybe you'll never really come back. Seeing you this way is the only thing I have left of you. I don't want to lose that."

She stood up, standing close to him. She held his face in her hands, letting him look into her eyes that he knew weren't really there. But he could see them and feel her brushing up against him. It was real enough.

"I love you too," she whispered.

He briefly closed his eyes, shaking his head clear, "That's just what I want you to say."

She nodded, agreeing, "Yes, it is. But maybe it's true."

There was a moment charged with emotion when he lost all of his sanity, leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. He knew she wasn't really there, that it wasn't really her, and he probably looked ridiculous right now. But he didn't care. She accepted his kiss, softly kissing him back. He felt her arms loop around his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her waist and sucked in every ounce of reprieve he could steal in this fragmented moment.

A knock at his bedroom door startled him out of his precious moment of peace and happiness, and the next second his mother was opening the door, "Sweetie, are you okay?"

He shook himself out of it and turned to look at her, "Yeah, fine. Did you see Derek and Marissa at the hospital? Is she alright?"

"She'll be just fine," Melissa smiled. "As far as I can tell, so will the baby. But I sent them to Deaton anyway since I'm not up on all the medical needs of supernatural fetuses."

Scott gaped at her, "Marissa's pregnant?"

Melissa's smile fell, "Yeah... you didn't know. She's four weeks along."

Scott's brain was on hyper drive at the thought of Derek Hale becoming a father. It was almost as crazy a thought as the mere existence of werewolves used to be to him. But he couldn't deny he was happy Derek had love in his life again, and a family.

"Okay then," he accepted, "that's great."

"You'll explain to me what happened last night later?" Melissa said. "I gotta go back in."

He nodded, "Yeah, I will, I promise."

* * *

Scott rode his motorbike down the street towards the school, his ears picking up the sound of two motorcycles on either side of him. He knew it was the twins as he parked his bike and yanked off his helmet, "You guys going to be doing this all day?"

"All day," Ethan confirmed.

"All night," Aiden added.

"Is this about being in my pack?" Scott sighed.

"This is about you being the target of demonic ninjas," Aiden corrected him.

"You mean the demonic ninjas that pulled swords out of their chests and completely kicked our asses?" Ethan posed.

"Yeah," Aiden said, "those demonic ninjas."

"I don't need anyone to protect me," Scott argued.

Aiden protested, serious expression on his face, "They were looking right at you when the sun came up."

"And they also disappeared," Scott pointed out. "Argent thinks that they could just come out at night."

"Since this is our first experience with demonic ninjas," Ethan began, "we're thinking we should play it safe."

Scott sighed, "All day."

"And all night," Ethan smirked, he and his brother following the alpha into the school hallway, all the way to his locker.

Scott opened his locker and got what he needed, speaking into the space, "Okay, one thing first. I need to talk to Stiles and let him know everything that happened last night. Without you."

"No," Aiden scoffed.

"Yes," he emphasized an order, "and I don't want you listening in. No wolf hearing."

"How would you even know?" Ethan asked.

He paused, smirking into his locker, "I'm a true Alpha. You have no idea what I can do."

* * *

Stiles had pounced on Scott with Georgie by his side and nearly dragged him into the chemistry room, "So, then we saw my key had phosphors on it, something that's in chemicals, right? And so that made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had to let Barrow in..." he stopped short when he saw the blackboard, everything was erased. "It's gone." He gulped, remembering his keys, "Okay, it doesn't matter though. It doesn't matter. I've still got the key." He went to the chemistry closet and pulled out his key ring, fingering through them for the not-so-mystery key only to find that it wasn't there, "What the hell? I had it—I had it here. I had it here this morning, I swear to God, I had it this morning." Stiles sighed, "I know it was there, it was all here. The key, the message on the blackboard in my hand writing."

"So, you unlocked the chemistry closet so Barrow could hide in it from the cops and then you wrote him a message to kill Kira?" Scott asked, not liking the conclusions Stiles was drawing.

"I know how it sounds," Stiles admitted. "But look at this," he dug out a cut out newspaper article and unfolded it. "This is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him, okay? About the shrapnel bomb that he used. See this?" he pointed to a line he had highlighted, "See what he did? He put nuts, bolts and screws—then hid the bomb and the detonator in a box that he wrapped as a birthday present. What does that sound like to you?"

Scott paused, "Coach..."

"That joke we all played on Coach," Georgie emphasized their involvement.

"But I thought of it," Stiles pointed out. "You remember? That was  _my_  idea. That's no coincidence. It can't be."

"I don't want to sound like I'm trying to tell you that you're wrong," Scott responded carefully. "But I don't think you're trying to kill people either."

Stiles stared at the blank blackboard, muttering, "It was here. It was all here."

"Yes, it was," Georgie held his face in her hands and made him look at her. "I saw it all too, Stiles. The key and the message, okay? It was here."

He nodded, letting her hug him.

Scott regarded him with concern, "Dude, are you feeling okay? You're looking really tired."

"He's barely slept," Georgie admitted. "No matter what I try."

"I'm fine," Stiles whispered.

"Why don't you go home?" Scott suggested. "Take a sick day or something."

"That sounds like a good idea," Georgie agreed, looking up at her boyfriend. "Come on, I'll go with you. I can miss a day. We both can."

* * *

Allison stared at her phone while in the car with her father and Isaac.

_They're after Kira too._

She knew it was from Jessie. So, she immediately called Scott.

"Hey," he answered.

"Scott, I just got a tip from Jessie," Allison rushed the words out. "She said they'll be after Kira too. It's not just you they want."

"I was thinking that too," Scott admitted. "She definitely has a connection to the supernatural."

"What are you going to do?" Allison asked, worried.

"I don't know yet."

* * *

Instead of going home, Georgie dragged Stiles to the hospital to get himself checked out, "We don't know if everything has to do with the ritual, maybe it's human."

So, he followed her in and they checked in with Melissa. She stared at her computer screen, "Dr. Gardner's not back until next week. Do you want to try waiting for one of the urgent care doctors or-"

She saw the distress on Stiles face, tears threatening to fall out of his red-rimmed eyes, "Stiles. Are you all right?"

He stumbled away from the counter, Georgie's hands holding his elbows, "I don't know. I guess—I guess not really."

Melissa stood from her station and walked around in front of him, "All right, kiddo. All right," she led the two teenagers down the hall. She set Stiles up in an empty room, holding a clipboard as he sat on the bed.

"Blackouts," Stiles listed off what was going on for her, "but not for that long. And sleepwalking, which I used to do a lot as a kid. Um... also having some really bad anxiety."

"Panic attacks?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah, a couple," Stiles told her. "Oh, and I temporarily lost the ability to read. But that might have had more to do with this giant magic tree... and the whole human sacrifice thing."

Melissa smiled sarcastically at him, "I recall something vaguely about that, yes. How many hours of sleep are you getting?"

"Eight," he answered.

"Stiles," Georgie chided his vague answer.

"A night?" Melissa asked to clarify.

"In the last three nights," Stiles sighed. He stared at his shaking hands, struggling to count on his fingers. Georgie held his hands in hers to calm him.

Melissa set down her clipboard and walked over to a table with other medical supplies on it, "Been feeling irritable?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, "possibly to the point of homicide."

"Inability to focus?" Melissa asked.

He sighed, "No, the Adderall's not working."

"Impulsive behavior?"

"More than my usual?" he quipped. "It's hard to tell."

"Vivid dreams during the day?"

"All of the above," Georgie answered.

"Do you know what this is?" Stiles asked as she walked back over to the bed.

"I think so," She smiled gently, brandishing a syringe.

Stiles stared at it, "What is that?"

"Do you trust me?"

"When you're not holding a needle," he remarked.

She smiled at the joke and lifted up his shirt sleeve to wipe it before sticking the needle into his arm and pushing down the plunger, "It's Midazolam. A sedative."

"Why'd you give me a sedative?" Stiles asked.

"Because you, Stiles, are one profoundly sleep-deprived young man," she told him calmly. "You need rest and you need it now. Lie down."

She and Georgie helped Stiles lay back on the bed, Georgie pulling the blanket over him to his shoulders. "Okay, how long's it take to-" he cut off his question when he immediately felt groggy, "Oh. Not long at all."

Melissa nodded, smiling, "Get some rest."

He settled into the bed, his eyes slowly falling closed, "Thanks, mom."

Melissa stopped short at the term, staring at the young man she cared for. Georgie smiled at the woman, whispering, "He thinks the world of you."

Melissa smiled at the girl, "Maybe you should head home and rest too. Has he ever woken you up?"

Georgie nodded, "A few times here and there. He had pretty bad nightmares. But it's calmed down some. I'll be fine here. I don't want to leave him."

"Okay," Melissa agreed, "Just keep quiet."

* * *

Georgie was sitting there for a few hours in an uncomfortable chair next to Stiles when her phone began to ring. She saw Scott's name and picked up, worried, "Scott?"

"Georgie!" he greeted, relief in his voice. "Where are you? Are you with Stiles?"

"We're at the hospital," Georgie explained. "We saw your mom and she gave him a sedative to help him sleep. He's out right now, will be for few more hours."

"Then can you meet me at my house?" Scott asked her desperately. "Kira and I are about to head there now, before the sun goes down."

"What? Why?" Georgie asked, confused. Scott never told her and Stiles what happened at the party after they left.

"The things that attacked Isaac showed up last night," Scott explained quickly. "We can't kill them and they're fast, and skilled. They went after Ethan, Lydia and Aiden and did the same thing they did to Isaac. Even to Derek and Marissa. They all have the same kind of symbol on their heads because of it. But as soon as the sun came up, they disappeared. And Argent thinks they only come out at night."

"And it'll be night soon," Georgie sighed. "Same thing? Cold skin, the shivering and fear?"

"Exactly," he told her. "Argent says they go after people connected to the supernatural. So, they could be after me, Kira, even you. So, please just head to my place right now."

Georgie was touched that Scott wanted so badly to protect her, but her eyes were still trained on her sleeping boyfriend, "I can't just leave Stiles. What if they come after him too?"

"He's human," Scott pointed out to her.

"So is Marissa," Georgie stated. "And your mom treated her for hypothermia last night. They went after her for being connected to Derek. What if they come after Stiles for being connected to you or me?"

She heard Scott sigh, "Come on, Georgie. Stiles once stopped talking to me for not saving his dad from getting hit by a car last year. I can't imagine he'd forgive me for letting you get attacked by these demonic ninjas when I could have protected you."

Georgie bit her lip hard in thought before she finally caved, "Fine. I'll meet you there."

"Thank you, hurry," he rushed out before hanging up.

She drove as fast as she could, pulling up to the McCall house just as Scott and Kira arrived. She was shocked when Scott gave her a tight hug before letting both girls into the house. Georgie looked out the window nervously as she shut the front door and locked, "Scott, it's almost night."

"I know," he said as he rushed around the house, shutting all the windows and locking them. "But Allison, her dad and Isaac are working on something that could help."

"I don't want to sound pessimistic or anything," Kira began, "but you really think that's going to keep them out?"

He still continued to lock the windows, "Actually, we have a kind of security system. Things happened over a month ago, a lot of things, and we had my boss help make a few changes to the house."

"Your boss?" Kira asked. "Do you work for a security company or something?"

"No, he's a veterinarian," Scott answered as he closed another window.

"You had a vet put in your alarm?" she asked skeptically.

"It's not that crazy after you meet the guy," Georgie assured her.

"But I can't arm it," Scott added. "Only my mom can."

"When is she coming home?" Georgie asked worriedly.

"Don't worry," Scott told her earnestly as they made their way through the upstairs to close all the windows. "She'll be here."

"The sun is going to set any minute, Scott," Georgie emphasized nervously.

But then Scott heard a car pull up outside, "That's her now."

The three of them rushed down the stairs but stopped short when they saw Agent McCall sitting in the kitchen. Scott glared at his father, "What are you doing here? And why do you still have a key?"

McCall got defensive, "I'm just here to talk to your mother."

"About what?" Melissa asked, walking into the house with her boyfriend, Gavin, behind her.

"About him actually," he pointed an accusing finger at Gavin.

"Me?" Gavin asked him, almost amused at the clear jealousy.

"Yeah, I did a background check on you," McCall sneered.

Melissa held up her hands, glaring at her ex, "Excuse me—you did  _what_?"

"Gavin McGarretty," her ex ignored her protest. "Word around town is you just showed up to take over the Beacon Hills cemetery. But no one really knows where you came from."

"Tell them to listen to me talk," Gavin emphasized his deep Scottish accent.

"Scott..." Georgie whispered, tugging his jacket sleeve and pointing out the window where the sun was starting to go down.

His eyes widened, "Dad, you need to leave."

"I will when I get answers," his father snapped, still facing Gavin angrily. "I looked into you, the only Gavin McGarretty I could find in Scotland died twenty years ago."

"That would be my father," Gavin snapped. "Gavin McGarretty the second, I'm the third. I've got a brother too."

"There's no birth certificate for you in Scotland," McCall narrowed his eyes.

"Both my brother and I were born in Berlin," Gavin explained. "But we grew up in the highlands."

"You do  _not_  have to explain yourself," Melissa told her boyfriend earnestly.

"Did he tell you he had a wife?" the Agent asked her. "That she died violently ten years ago?"

"Yes!" Melissa glared at her ex vehemently. "He also told me that he was there. And he was attacked as well."

"I lost a wife and child that day," Gavin added stoically. "It makes me angry when men like you push your family away and walk out on them when I would have done anything to have mine back."

Scott gulped when he saw one of the demonic ninjas materialized in the shadows of the living room, "Dad. Leave. Now."

McCall turned around to face his son when he noticed the new figure, "Who the hell is this?"

He stepped forward, brandishing his weapon, ignoring both Scott and Gavin telling him not to. He didn't have time to react before the ninja pulled out his steel sword and stabbed him through the chest, making both Georgie and Kira scream. Melissa ran forward and put pressure on his wound.

The side door opened with a bang. In fear, Melissa and Gavin dragged her ex off behind a wall as Derek slid into the room, fully transformed and growling. Scott let his transformation take over as he and Derek tried to fight off the ninjas. Scott shouted to his mom, "Mom, the ash!"

Kira and Georgie locked hands, standing in the kitchen. Georgie looked to her side to see one of the ninjas standing over them threateningly. She backed away, pushing Kira behind her, when the twins crashed into the house through the window, claws and jaws out.

They growled at the ninja and attacked. Scott finally overpowered his opponent and tossed him out the window just as Melissa clutched a glass jar in her hand from her bag. "Mom, now! Do it now!"

Melissa looked around cautiously, seeing the twins toss another ninja back out the window they broke in with. She followed after Derek who was pushing the last one out the side entrance, immediately throwing the jar onto the threshold. It shattered and mountain ash poured out of it, creating a perfect line that she knew formed a protective perimeter around the house.

There was a collective relief but not a total relaxation in the group as the demons lined the entrances of the house, waiting to get it. Kira and Georgie stared in rapt fear at the demon standing right outside the front door in front of them. Kira reached out slowly, her hand clashing with the barrier, forcing her back. Georgie didn't try the same thing, and neither girl saw Aiden staring at Kira suspiciously.

Derek and Scott stood at the side door as Gavin and Melissa carried Scott's dad into his bedroom. Derek stomped lightly on the floor, "All of the baseboards are ash wood?"

"Uh, yeah, it was Deaton's idea," Scott answered. "And where the hell did you come from?"

"I've been following you," Derek replied like it should have been obvious.

"For how long?" Scott gaped at him.

"All day."

"Kira? Right?" Aiden asked the girl next to Georgie, earning a wary look from his brother and the witch. "You gonna tell us what you are?"

Kira stared at him in fear, "What? What do you mean?"

"Scott!" Melissa's voice called downstairs. Scott ran up to his room where she and Gavin were trying to suppress his father's bleeding, "This isn't good!"

He mumbled deliriously, "Need to call for backup."

Scott stared down at his father, "How bad is it?"

"From the way that his arm is rotated, the tendon looks torn," Melissa breathed, trying to wrap the wound somehow. "We got to get him to the hospital. Should we call Stiles' Dad?"

"No offense to the Sheriff," Gavin started. "But he can't face those things."

Scott felt fear in his chest at the fact that they'd just exposed everything to this guy, "Listen, about what you saw..."

Gavin held up a hand to stop him, "It's okay, Scott, I already knew."

"You knew?" Scott gaped at him – how was it that everyone seemed to know everything and nothing at the same time?

"You met my brother," Gavin said. "Connor – at that bank when you saved Deaton. You don't have to worry. What we have to worry about is that those things won't leave until the sun comes up."

"At the rate he's bleeding, he's not gonna make it that long," Melissa stressed.

* * *

"Aiden..." Ethan warned his brother as he stared at Kira.

Aiden ignored him, catching Kira's wrist, "Watch," he pushed her hand into the force field, showing his twin that she couldn't pass through it. "She can't go through it either." He stared down at the girl suspiciously, "So, what are you?"

"A kitsune."

Derek had just walked in to say the same thing, but instead a smug feminine voice answered from outside the house. Everyone turned, some gasped, and others gaped at the sight of Jessie walking up the porch steps, standing just outside the screen door. She wore a black top underneath and short long sleeve brown jacket that latched around her neck. Her hair was longer and darker, but most of her face was hidden behind dark tinted aviator sunglasses, none of them could see her eyes.

"Jessie?" Derek whispered.

She smiled gently, "Hey."

"You're back?" Georgie asked in shock.

The girl nodded, "I am. For good, hopefully. We can have a special reunion later. For now, I need you guys to trust me. Where's Scott?"

Georgie didn't take her eyes off of Jessie for a second as she called out to the alpha, "Scott! Get down here!"

A few moments later his footsteps could be heard, his worried voice calling back, "What is it? What's wrong?"

He stopped short when he saw Jessie in the door. His eyes got wide and his jaw fell slack, "Jessie?"

"Hey Scott, mind if I come in?" Jessie asked as if he knew she was coming over just to chill.

He numbly shook his head and the twins growled as she effortlessly opened the screen door and walked passed the mountain ash. Scott still stared at her, wondering if she was really there, "You're here?" he looked at Georgie, "You see her too right?"

Jessie looked confused at the remark but Georgie nodded nervously anyway, "Yeah, I see her too."

Scott didn't wait another second before he launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as if any second now she would disappear. She gracefully accepted the hug, letting her arms encompass him just as tightly. It felt like they would have held each other for as long as they could, but Jessie had to force herself to pull back, speaking urgently, "Listen, Scott, you have to let them in."

"What?" he gaped at her as if she was crazy.

"They're not going to hurt you if you just let them do what they have to do," she explained. "They're called the Oni. Their purpose is to destroy the Nogitsune. It's a dark spirit that possesses supernatural beings or people connected to the supernatural. And after everything that happened, they're here to check us."

"What the hell is an Oni and Nogitsune?" Aiden growled.

Jessie stepped a half-step away from Scott to speak to everyone, "It's a dark kitsune. There are thirteen kinds, but this one is nasty. It's called void – it feeds off of pain and chaos. The Oni are making sure that it isn't in any of us, that's the symbol behind our ears. It means you're still yourself."

"Our ears?" Scott asked.

Jessie pulled her hair back, turning her head so he could see the symbol etched into her skin, "They found me in Portland."

* * *

The bleeding out FBI Agent was growing dangerously pale under Melissa's red stained hands, choking out, "I need to speak to Scott."

Melissa regarded him sarcastically, "You're kidding, right?"

"Don't patronize me, Melissa," he replied weakly. "You know why—you know why I really came back, don't you?"

"And as usual your timing sucks," she snapped. "You're not talking to him. Not like this. So, you stay awake and we're gonna get you out of here as fast as we can."

* * *

Jessie looked around the group, "Scott, you and Kira and Georgie have to let them test you. Once they see you're not the dark spirit they're looking for, they won't hurt you. It isn't pleasant but we need to let them find this thing. The Nogitsune is unlike anything we've ever faced before Scott, I promise you that. I also promise, that I would never let you get hurt. I wouldn't be telling you to do this if I thought anything else bad would happen. You can't fight them."

Scott looked into his reflection in her glasses. He slowly reached up and pulled her sunglasses off of her nose, revealing her eyes glowing bright cobalt blue. Looking into them finally, he could see the plea and the truth in what she was telling him, practically begging of him.

"Okay."

Aiden's head snapped towards the alpha, "You're kidding right?"

Scott shook his head, "Let them in, Jessie."

She nodded, looking from him to the girls, "Don't worry, okay? It fades away soon."

Jessie half-turned and swiped her hand over the mountain ash, an invisible force sweeping the dust away so the Oni could step into the house. Jessie went to stand with Scott, taking one of his hands in hers as the a ninja stepped up to him, Georgie and Kira. The three Japanese demons placed their hands on the left side of each of their heads, their eyes glowing bright yellow like little fireflies.

Each of them felt like all the warmth from their bodies was being sucked out as they seized and lost all their strength. Scott's hand twitched out of Jessie's as he and the girls fell to their knees. After what seemed like an eternal moment, the Oni removed their hands, and disappeared in a poof of black smoke.

Jessie crouched at Scott's side, holding his face in her hands, "You're going to be okay."

Scott reached for something to say, but no words escaped him until her face was disappearing from view. He could have sworn he heard Derek say, "Jessie, where are you going?" before blackness seeped into his vision.

* * *

When he came to only a minute later he had no time to question Jessie being gone until his mother and Gavin carried his father out of the house and into the car, all of them rushing to the hospital. Melissa shouted to the trauma nurse that met her at the entrance, "Hey, stab wound to the left chest. Possible collapsed lung. Pulse is weak."

They put him on a stretcher and took him off. Georgie had come too, tugging on Scott's sleeve, "We need to find Stiles."

He nodded and walked with her to where Stiles' room was. He stopped, grabbing her hand when they passed a room and he saw Stiles standing in the middle of it. Georgie walked in, "Stiles?"

He stayed still, at first not responding to her voice.

"Stiles?" Scott tried. "You okay?"

There was a lag before Stiles turned around, seemingly normal, "Yeah, fine. What's been going on?"


	10. Sleepwalking into a Steel Trap

Scott blinked his eyes open when his ears picked up his vibrating phone on the nightstand next to him, in the middle of the night. He looked over, seeing Georgie's name flashing on the screen. He picked up the phone and swiped the green circle, holding it up to his ear, "Georgie, what's going on?" He heard her crying over the line and immediately perked, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I can't find Stiles," she told him quickly, "I woke up and he wasn't there. He usually ends up in the kitchen when he sleep walks but I've checked the whole house and I can't find him anywhere. His dad isn't home. Stiles' jeep isn't in the driveway. Scott, I'm scared, I don't know what to do."

"Okay, okay," Scott stood from his bed and turned his light on. "Just look around his room for anything missing. I'm gonna come get you and we'll figure it out, alright?"

"Scott, I don't think he changed and snuck out, the room... He stuck scissors into the bed— _literally_  right next to me. And the yarn he uses for the mystery board is everywhere now," she said, "It's like he just got up, left this message and didn't stay in the house."

"I'll be there soon, okay?" Scott tried to soothe her.

"Please hurry," she begged before hanging up.

Scott was about to get dressed when his phone vibrated again. This time, it was Stiles' name. He picked up immediately, "Dude, where are you? Georgie just called me worried sick."

There was hitched breathing, almost like pain. Then Stiles' voice started quietly stammering, "I don't—I don't know where I am. I don't know how I got here. I think I was sleepwalking."

"Okay, um, can you see anything?" Scott asked desperately. "Just tell me what you see."

"It's dark," Stiles whispered. "I can't move. Something's wrong with my leg—it's stuck on something. And I... I think it's bleeding."

"How bad?" Scott asked, getting more worried by the second. "Stiles, how bad is it?"

"Ah, there's some kind of smell down here," Stiles gagged. "Something smells terrible. It's brutal. My eyes are watering."

"Okay, listen, I'm calling your dad," Scott told him, ready to hang up.

"No, no, no, no, don't," Stiles' voice raised slightly. "Just please don't call him. Promise you won't. He already worries about me too much. Scott, please."

"But what if I can't find you?" Scott posed. "Stiles, I can't make a promise like that."

"Just please," Stiles begged. "Come find me. You can do it. He doesn't have to know. Scott, you can find me."

Scott sighed helplessly, "I don't know if I can do this."

Stiles sniffled on the other line, "Oh, I gotta call you back. I have to turn the phone off."

"What?" Scott asked incredulously. "No, hey, wait!"

"I'm gonna call you back," Stiles promised.

"Hold on, Stiles wait," Scott tried, but the call ended.

Scott leaped to his dresser, shouting, "Isaac!" as he pulled out a change of clothes, "Isaac, get up! I need your help. Isaac!"

His bedroom door slammed open as a waking Isaac walked in, "Why? What's wrong?"

"It's Stiles," Scott tossed the boy a bike helmet. "Get dressed."

"What's wrong with Stiles?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Georgie hurriedly slipped into her clothes she packed to wear to school the next day and was glad it was something she could be warm in, just jeans and a thermal shirt. She swiped one of Stiles' hoodies and wrapped it around her as she looked around the bedroom for anything out of the ordinary. She ducked under the red yarn that started to make it's way across the walls, but everything seemed to be in the same place as it was before they went to bed.

Suddenly, her phone started ringing, playing Eternal Flames by the Bangels. She instantly recognized it as the ring tone she assigned to Stiles on her phone and picked it up quickly, "Stiles!? Where are you?"

"I don't know," Stiles whimpered. "I'm—I'm sorry. I think I was sleepwalking."

"It's okay, baby," she cooed, trying to calm him down. "I called Scott, and I'm gonna call your dad and my sister-"

"Don't call my dad!" he begged. "Please, anyone but him. You and Scott can find me, I know you can."

"I'm not promising that," Georgie whispered. "But where are you? Can you see anything? Tell me something."

He whispered, "It's a basement—some kind of basement."

"Like a house?" Georgie asked.

"No, it looks bigger—like industrial," he described quietly. "I think there's a furnace. But it's cold. It's freezing. I gotta turn the phone off. It's gonna die."

"Wait, baby, give me something else to work with," Georgie begged.

"The phone's dying," he muttered. "I can't talk. I have to go."

"Why are you whispering?" Georgie asked him, staring at the wall covered in red yarn.

There was silence on the other end for a long two seconds that had her heart in her throat, and only shoved it's way up even more when he finally whispered, terrified, "Because I think there's someone in here with me."

* * *

Scott and Isaac got to the Stilinski household when they saw Lydia's car and said girl jumping out with Aiden in tow. Scott rushed up to her, "How did you know? Did he call you too?"

"I heard it," Lydia explained, earning confused looks from Scott and Isaac.

"Don't ask," Aiden deadpanned. "It gets more confusing when you ask."

They all nodded and made their way into the house, up the stairs and into his room, all stopping dead when they saw someone standing in the room with Georgie.

Jessie stood there, still in her sunglasses. She smiled awkwardly when Lydia gasped at the sight of her. Isaac thought he lost all his breath at the sight of his first love returned, "Jessie?"

She smiled softly at him, "Hi, Isaac. I'm sorry we had to reunite this way."

Suddenly, Lydia lurched forward and the girls were wrapped up in a tight hug before they pulled away. "I had a feeling about Stiles tonight, he's in danger."

"He's missing," Lydia sighed, looking around the room, seeing a pair of large scissors stabbed into the bed with red yarn tied to it, anchoring strings of it from the walls.

"Red's for unsolved," Georgie explained. "I woke up and it was like this and he was gone. He called me after I hung up with you Scott. He said he's in an industrial basement somewhere. And he's freezing."

"Something's wrong with his leg," Scott told her. "He said it's bleeding."

"Tonight's the coldest night of the year," Aiden informed them. "It's going to drop into the 20s."

Georgie let out a shuddering sob, landing on the bed behind her. Lydia bounced to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and looking over at Scott, "What did his dad say?"

"We kind of... we didn't tell him yet," Scott flinched.

"Stiles is missing, bleeding and freezing and you didn't call his dad!?" Lydia snapped at him.

"He made me promise not to," Scott told her. "We can find him by scent."

"Who knows how far he got with the jeep," Jessie finally spoke again. "He could be anywhere. How many industrial basements can we check before he freezes?"

"I can get more help," Scott told her, getting closer to her. "I can call Derek, Allison-"

"Everyone except for the cops," Lydia interrupted sarcastically. "Great idea."

"You remember she gets these feelings when someone's about to die, right?" Aiden pointed out.

Georgie jerked in her position as something occurred to her. "Oh god..."

Lydia looked at her concerned, "What? What is it?"

" _Stiles?" Georgie asked sleepily as her eyes slowly focused on the empty spot in the bed next to her. She sighed deeply, sitting up and crawling off the mattress. She walked into the bathroom and saw no sign of her boyfriend. She rubbed her eyes as she made her way down the hallway, ducking her head into the Sheriff's room. He had started keeping the door open so he could hear if Stiles started screaming._

_Georgie moved on and walked downstairs, hearing a soft creak and followed the noise into the kitchen. Stiles was standing there in a shirt and boxers, holding a pantry door open and pulling out old cook books. Georgie walked up to him and tried to stop him from taking any more of them out, "Stiles, what are you doing?"_

_He looked down at her, pleasantly smiling, "Hey babe." He leaned down and pecked her lips, taking another book out. "You ready for that test?"_

" _You mean the test tomorrow?" Georgie asked, thoroughly confused. "Yeah, but we need sleep. Come back to bed."_

" _What are you talking about?" Stiles asked her. "I need to do some last minute cramming before third period. But I can't find the text book in my locker. Do you mind if we share yours?"_

" _Huh?" Georgie asked, looking from him to his hand holding the pantry door open the way he'd hold his locker door. "Stiles... we're not at school. It's four in the morning."_

" _What?" Stiles whispered, looking between her and the nearly empty pantry._

" _Come on," she told him gently, trying not to startle him as she took the cook books from his hands and set them on the counter. She tugged him behind her towards the stairs, "It's okay, baby."_

"He might not even be right about where he is," Georgie told the group. "When he sleep walks, he gets confused. He thinks he's at school when he's in the kitchen. But he's convinced he's at school. He might just think he's in a basement, but he could be anywhere."

"Fantastic," Isaac droned. "How are we supposed to find him now?"

"Come on," Scott sighed. "It's five minutes to the station."

"I'm going to my house to see if my sister has something," Georgie said.

"We'll catch up," Lydia said, holding Aiden's arm. "There's something here."

"Okay," Jessie said, looking at Scott. "Let's take my car, you can fit your bike in the back."

* * *

The Sheriff struggled to conceal his fear, leaning heavily on Parrish's desk before he slipped back into Sheriff mode after Scott, Isaac and Jessie walked in to tell him his son was missing. "Come on, if his Jeep is gone, that's where we start." He pointed at his deputy sitting down, "Parrish, let's get an APB out on a blue 1980 CJ-5 Jeep." He pointed at another deputy, "Cordova, I want a list of any kind of industrial basement or sub-level of any building that he couldn't gotten into while sleepwalking." Both deputies rushed to do their tasks. "It's the coldest night of the year so far. So, if he's out there barefoot and in just a t-shirt, he could already be hypothermic. Let's move fast. Let's think fast." He waved the teenagers into his office, closing the door behind them, "Okay. Is there anything you need to tell me that I can't tell anyone out there?"

"He may not be where he says he is," Jessie told him. "Georgie says he gets confused when he sleepwalks, he thinks he's somewhere else."

"Great," the father cursed. His son could be anywhere freezing to death.

"Lydia's working on something," Scott tried to console him. "I called Derek and Allison for help. And Georgie went to her sister for something."

"Can you find him by scent?" he asked just as Parrish knocked on the door before opening it up to tell him. "We got it, sir. We found the Jeep. It's at the hospital."'

They all raced out of the office and headed out of the station when Jessie froze in her steps. Scott stopped, grabbing Isaac's arm, "Jessie, what is it?"

"I'm getting a feeling," she murmured, looking off to the side as if seeing something that wasn't really there.

"Like you know where he is?" Scott asked hopefully.

She slowly shook her head, "I don't know yet. I got to go."

"Wait, what?" Isaac snapped. "You're leaving? Stiles is missing."

"I know that," she spat through clenched teeth. "He's my best friend and don't think I won't do all that I can to find him. That's why I have to go." She grabbed her keys from her pocket and handed them to Scott, "Take my car."

Before they could say much to deter her, she was gone, speeding away into the night.

* * *

The Sheriff and the boys got to the hospital to see the jeep sitting empty in the parking lot. The Sheriff cursed when he looked at it in more detail, "It's dead. He must have left the lights on."

"Why would he come here?" Isaac asked, looking over at the hospital entrance.

"Let's find out," Scott said, leading them into the hospital only to run into his worried mother.

"Security's doing sweeps of every floor," she informed them hastily. "He's not on any of them."

"What about the basement?" the Sheriff asked.

"Follow me," she waved him behind her, speed walking off.

* * *

Derek stood on the hospital roof, looking over the edge into the town, training his nose for anything. He heard Scott and Isaac walk onto the roof and spoke, "He's not here. Not anymore."

"You mean the whole building?" Scott asked for clarification.

"Gone," he nodded.

"I'll go tell Stilinski," Isaac offered, walking off.

"And see if you can find Allison," Scott ordered. "She's not answering her phone."

Isaac nodded and made his way out the door.

"Notice how strong the scent is up here?" Derek asked the new alpha. "Ever hear of chemo signals? Chemical signals that communicate emotion. And just our sweat can give off anger, fear or disgust. Take a deep breath and tell me what you feel."

Scott took a moment to close his eyes and focus, breathing deeply, "Stress."

"And anxiety," Derek added.

"What was he doing up here?" Scott looked around concerned.

"I don't know," Derek sighed. "But there was definitely some kind of struggle."

Scott's eyes widened, "With who?"

"Himself."

* * *

Stiles whimpered and shivered in the cold dank basement, when he heard rustling. He froze, taking out his phone and turning the flashlight on, looking around, "Who's there? Who are you?"

A figure lurked in the dark corner, wrapped like a mummy in yellowed gauze and donning a brown leather jacket. He whispered in Japanese, the sound echoing in the gray walls.

"What?" Stiles whispered. "I don't—I don't understand."

"Not who are you, Stiles," the figure spoke in a malicious raspy tone. "Who are we?"

Stiles groaned in pain.

"It's getting colder, Stiles," the voice said. "Did you notice that we've stopped shivering? Do you know why that's a bad sign?"

Stiles breathed harshly through his nose, "It's the body trying to conserve energy. It was my fifth grade science report."

"Hypothermia," the stranger confirmed. "Our speech is starting to thicken. Then comes fatigue. Confusion. We're going to die if we don't get out of here."

"Stop saying that," Stiles hissed. "Stop saying we."

"We're just trying to keep you from freezing to death," the voice ignored him. "You better get up, Stiles."

"How?" the boy spat at the stranger, waving madly at his ankle stuck in a trap. "There's a freaking steel-jawed trap on my leg!"

"Is there?" he asked, his voice hissing like a snake.

Stiles began to sob as the stranger taunted him more, "Notice something different? It was on your right leg before, wasn't it?"

Stiles paused, looking at his left ankle. He shook his head vehemently, "No."

"Are you sure?"

Stiles looked again and sure enough, the trap was on his right ankle this time. Stiles whimpered, "What is this? What are you doing?"

"We're trying to save you, Stiles," the stranger droned. "We're trying to save your life."

* * *

"Georgie, it's me," Jessie's voice was heard over the phone line. Georgie stood in her kitchen with her sister Sonia while said sister bustled around the small room, getting a tracking spell ready. Jessie kept talking, "Listen, I have a feeling about Stiles. It took me to the woods and I found this car... it looks like it crashed years ago."

"Stiles and Scott found that wreck. A family crashed and a little girl survived but she turned into a Werecoyote," Georgie quickly explained. "Scott turned her back and reunited her with her father."

"You guys had some fun while I was gone, huh?" Jessie emotionlessly quipped.

"You don't know the half of it," Georgie said. "Why would your feelings take you there? Is Stiles' there?"

"Not now, but I smell him, he was here," Jessie said. "Listen I know you're working on a tracking spell. Can you hone it in on me? I'm close, I can feel it."

Georgie quickly looked up at her sister and asked quickly, "Is there any way we can make Jessie the tracker without her here?"

Sonia nodded, "I just need her full name. Her real name."

"Jessie, what's your real full name?" Georgie asked into the phone.

There was a short pause over the line, "My birth name or my adopted name?"

"Birth name, the name attached to your blood, it's the only one that will work," Sonia said loudly so Jessie could hear her voice in the phone.

"Jessica Mallory Sange," Jessie recited.

"Get ready then," Sonia said, beginning the ritual, holding her hand over a misty pot and slowly chanting.

* * *

Jessie felt a small tingling in her chest, her feeling pulling her much more strongly than before. And she followed it.


	11. Power Surge

Melissa had gone to the station after her shift, running into her ex, who promptly corralled her into his car and took off towards the backwoods roads.

"What are you saying?" Melissa asked him.

"I'm saying the real question might be, how do we know he's not still asleep?" Rafael explained.

"You mean he's been asleep this whole time?" Melissa asked skeptically.

"Well, people who sleepwalk can do crazy things," he told her. "One guys goes down to the kitchen and cooks an entire meal. Another guy is found mowing his lawn—naked."

"Why's any of that matter?" Melissa goaded.

Rafael decided to go a different way, "You remember that townhouse apartment we lived in? There was that one night I came home drunk."

"Oh, one night?" Melissa snorted derisively.

He gave her a look, "Let me finish. So, I'm drunk, passed out on the bed. I get up to go to the bathroom. Then all of the sudden I hear you yelling 'what the hell are you doing?'"

"Because you were in the closet peeing into the laundry basket!" Melissa replied.

"Yeah, I thought it was the bathroom," he repeated.

"Oh, no," she shook her head. "You were drunk off your ass."

"Yeah," he agreed, stressing, "but I was  _convinced_  it was the bathroom. So, how do we know Stiles isn't just convinced he's in some kind of basement? And isn't actually there? I think when he called Scott and his girlfriend, he was still asleep."

Melissa let the idea sink in, "And is still asleep right now. Then where is he?"

"I got an idea on that too."

* * *

Stiles stared, terrified, as the stranger scratched the Oni symbol for 'self' into the wall with chalk. "You don't understand, do you? It's a riddle. Do you know any riddles, Stiles?"

The way he spoke, slow and calm, drawing out every word he hissed, unnerved Stiles to his very core. But he responded anyway, "A few."

"What gets bigger the more you take away?" he asked.

"A hole," Stiles answered.

"What gets wetter the more it dries?"

"A towel," Stiles sniffled, slowly losing the strength in his arms to hold his body upright.

"When is a door not a door?"

Stiles stopped short at that question, the ultimate question that spelled out the root of his problems, "When it's ajar."

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it," the stranger continued. "What is it?"

"I don't-" Stiles exhaled deeply, shivering.

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it," he repeated. "What is it, Stiles?"

"I don't—I don't know," the boy whimpered.

The stranger approached him, shouting in his face in Japanese. Stiles shuddered in fear under his spitting remarks he didn't even understand. Then suddenly, the stranger pulled on the chain connected to the trap that encased and immobilized him, dragging it and dragging him across the ground.

"No! No! Wait! Wait!" Stiles screamed, desperately trying to grab onto to something to hold him still, to stop him from being dragged off into nothingness.

Elsewhere in the woods, Jessie paused when she heard Stiles' desperate, agonized screams, "Wait! Wait!"

She ran towards the voice, "Stiles!?" She ran until she found the boy screaming, sleeping, having a nightmare, on the ground of a coyote den that smelled putrid to her sensitive nose. But she held her breath and rushed to Stiles side, wrapping her arms around him, "Stiles, it's okay. Wake up! You're okay!"

He thrashed in her arms, "Wait! No, wait!"

"Stiles!?" Jessie heard Melissa's voice. The woman ran over with her ex-husband in tow, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion when she noticed the girl, "Jessie!?"

"Stiles, you're all right!" Jessie ignored the woman and focused on warming Stiles up and waking him up. "You're all right, Stiles!" He settled in her arms, his eyes slowly opening and focusing on the woods around him, sans any industrial basement.

He laid his head back on her shoulder, his eyes falling on her face, "Jessie? You're-"

"I'm back," she told him gently. "I'm back. I'm not going anywhere, okay? You're all right."

Like a little lost boy, tears fell down his face as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly. "I'm so scared."

Jessie stroked his hair as if a mother would, "I know. But you're gonna be all right."

"We need to get him to the hospital," Melissa whispered urgently.

Jessie nodded, letting Agent McCall pick the boy up out of her arms and letting Melissa help her off the ground. They started rushing towards McCall's cruiser when Jessie heard a rustling in the woods. Her head snapped over to the sound, stopping her in her tracks.

Melissa looked back at the girl, seeing her staring into the woods, "Jessie? Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"They're here," Jessie whispered fearfully, as if in a trance. "The Alphas."

Melissa panicked, looking back at her ex. He hadn't heard anything but she could risk that he would, "Take him into the car and turn on the heat. I'll be right there."

He ran off without another word.

Melissa slowly approached Jessie, like a hurt animal, "Sweetie, that's over. Remember? The Alpha Pack is a thing of the past, I promise."

"She's going to kill me," Jessie began to cry. "Jennifer, she's-"

"Dead," Melissa urged her. "She's dead. You don't have to be afraid of her anymore, I promise."

Jessie started to hyperventilate, hearing chanting in her ears, the Darrach's shadow looming closer in between the trees.

Melissa grew nervous as an invisible force began to shake the trees around her, "Jessie, I need you to calm down. You're safe, okay? You're safe."

"No one is safe anymore!" Jessie cried.

"Jessie!?" a voice with a deep accent carried through the woods.

Melissa looked over at him and recognized him from pictures she'd seen at Gavin's house. This was his brother. "Connor? Connor McGarretty?"

"Hello love," Connor greeted her, standing in front of Jessie and grabbing her by her arms. "Come on, darling, you know it's not real."

Jessie continued to cry, losing her breath.

Connor sighed, turning to Melissa, "I've got her. You get the lad to the hospital. Go!"

Melissa didn't know if she could trust this man but he was Gavin's brother. So, she decided to heed his advice and ran for the car to get Stiles to help.

* * *

Lydia and Scott sat in the hospital hallway with McCall and Melissa standing by them as the Sheriff made his way over, sighing tiredly, "He's sleeping now. And he's just fine. He doesn't remember much. It's a bit like a dream to him." The man looked at the FBI Agent and said sincerely, "Thank you."

"It was the repellent we sprayed in the coyote den to keep other animals out," Rafael explained. "I couldn't go near it without my eyes watering. It's just a good thing he mentioned it over the phone."

The Sheriff shook his head, "No, it was more than that. Thank you."

He shrugged, "It was a lucky connection."

The Sheriff deadpanned, "McCall, can you shut up please and accept my sincerest gratitude?"

Rafael stared at the Sheriff before slowly nodding. "Accepted," he said shortly.

"All right, you two," Melissa looked at Scott and Lydia. "You've got school in less than six hours. Go home. Go to sleep."

"Wait," Scott stalled, "someone has to tell Jessie he's been found."

Melissa took his shoulder in her hands, "She knows, sweetie," she led him and Lydia further down the hallway to speak quietly, "She was already there when we found Stiles."

"Where is she now?" Lydia asked confused.

Melissa shook her head, "I don't know. We were going to the car to bring Stiles in when she stopped thinking she heard something. She started talking about the Alpha pack and that woman, Jennifer, like they were still around."

"What?" Scott cinched in his forehead, thoroughly confused.

"It was like she was having a flash back of some sort," Melissa explained. "But then Gavin's brother showed up, and said he could take care of her. I called Gavin on the way here and he vouched for his brother so I know she's safe."

"Safe from him but what about herself?" Lydia's voice grew shrill with worry.

"I don't know what to tell you guys," Melissa replied helplessly. "But Gavin gave me the address of where his brother and her are supposed to be staying. I'll give it to you after, and  _only_  after school tomorrow."

"If she's in trouble..." Scott started, his mind instantly wondering to everything Stiles had been going through. Could Jessie be suffering the same fate?

"She's not," Melissa cut him off. "Who knows what happened to her while she was gone. Who knows how it all affected her – it's impossible for all of you not to be affected by it all at this point. But I'm sure that this Connor character knows how to help her. You can check on her tomorrow. Now, get your butt home and go to sleep."

Scott reluctantly led Lydia out of the hospital to her car, getting his bike from the back of Jessie's car. He'd have to take it back to her tomorrow. And he definitely would find out what was wrong with her.

* * *

Once the teenagers and ex-husband had gone, Melissa pulled the Sheriff aside to speak to him seriously about something that had been plaguing her mind since Stiles came into the hospital to see her. "It was the other day. I asked him some questions. Just symptoms and, um..." she didn't know how to break her theory to him without breaking his heart.

"It's okay," he whispered, understanding, "I think I, uh, I think I know what you're talking about." He pulled out his police issued note pad and flipped the cover open, showing her a list of symptoms that she herself had written down after talking to Stiles. "I've been writing these down for the past two weeks. I think we need to do some tests."

* * *

Isaac had gotten to the Argent apartment right after they found Stiles, but woke Allison up anyway. Her phone had strangely been turned off and when she turned it back on, she found numerous voice mails from a blocked number of a man speaking Japanese. So, in the morning they brought it to their history teacher. Even though he was Korean, he decided to help them as they played the voice mail for him.

"You're right, it's Japanese," he said. "Who left this on your phone?"

"I don't know," Allison told him. "All of the messages are the same and they all say Blocked ID."

"Can you translate it?" Isaac urged.

"Mostly," he nodded. "The man speaking is giving instructions, actually. The first line is, 'All evacuees are required to stay at least ten feet back from outside fences.'"

Allison and Isaac seemed more confused by the English translation. "What does that mean? What fences?"

"The fences surrounding a Japanese internment camp during World War II," he responded gravely. "After Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were rounded up and put in camps. This man is reading instructions to prisoners upon their arrival."

"Well, where does something like this come from?" Allison asked curiously.

The teacher shook his head, "I don't know. Because it's fake." At their surprised expressions he explained, "It mentions the name of the internment camp as 'Oak Creek.' There was no internment camp named Oak Creek in California."

* * *

As soon as school let out, Scott texted his mom for the address of where Jessie was staying and then raced there on his bike, getting to a loft building fifteen minutes from the High School. He practically abandoned his bike and raced up the stairs to the fourth floor, pounding on the door.

A man he'd met once before was the one who answered it.

" _Who are you? How did you get here and why?"_

" _I'm here to help," the man answered, Scott now noticing an almost Irish accent in his voice, "Alex sent me."_

" _You're what he meant by reinforcements," Scott realized._

_The man nodded, "Among others. Name's Connor. And I've got a significant stake in Miss Hansen's future. It's only right I help her friend too."_

" _How do you know Jessie?" Scott interrogated protectively._

" _I don't," Connor admitted, "But I will. Don't worry, mate, I'm on your side. But there are a lot of hands at play here and a lot of them want the Demi-Cruore under their control."_

" _Demi-Cruore," Scott murmured, "Deucalion called her that. What does that actually mean?"_

" _It means that there's a lot in store for her in the future and she's going to need all the help she can get," Connor answered him without actually answering him, "There's a lot to unlock inside of her and that's part of my job."_

" _And who exactly gave you that job?" Deaton panted._

" _Her family," Connor answered, "Her – father's side of the family anyway. Listen there's a lot of rungs on the ladder you have to climb before you get the whole view, lads. And I've got a group of high strung hunters to meet up with."_

"Hello again, Scott," he greeted the younger boy mock-jovially. "I assume you're here to see Jessie."

"Yeah, is she okay?" Scott rushed in, looking around the loft. It was spacious for one thing. There were tall windows and nearly no walls. There was a kitchen off to the right with a dining table and chairs next to it. His eyes paused on two prescription bottles sitting next to the sink and an empty glass, but he put that away for later. To the left of the set up was a couch with no television, but a lap top sat on the coffee table in front of the couch. There was a spiral staircase that went up into a second floor with no wall hiding it from view, but there was a railing. Scott looked up and saw Jessie walking around the makeshift bedroom, slipping on her short brown leather jacket over a white tank top and jeans.

She looked at him and he was shocked to see her eyes were still glowing cobalt blue. She slipped sunglasses on over them as she made her way down the staircase, "Scott, you're here."

"Yeah, I was worried," he instantly answered.

"Don't be," she waved him off. "I'm fine. It's Stiles I'm worried about."

"They're running tests on him at the hospital," Scott informed her. "My mom said that you-"

"We should go be with him then," she cut him off. "You still have my car?"

"It's still at the hospital," Scott replied slowly. "Jessie, we're not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on."

"Nothing is going on!" she rose her voice.

"What about your eyes?" he shot at her. "I haven't seen your real eye color once. They're always glowing."

"They won't  _not_  glow anymore!" she yelled. "Ever since they gave me that blood, my eyes have been blue. Not even contacts will cover it up so I have to wear sunglasses everywhere like a douche."

Scott gaped at her for a moment, "Why... why won't they stop glowing?"

Her shoulders fell, deflated, "I don't know. It's like I'm always in transition between human and whatever a vampire is supposed to look like and I can never calm down enough to make them stop."

"Well..." Scott trailed off, trying to think of anything he used to calm down that could help her. "What about your anchor? You've used it before to heal yourself and summon powers—can't you use it to calm down?"

"I don't have an anchor, Scott," she whispered, going over to the couch to sit down. Connor quietly excused himself into the hallway, sensing the two needed to speak alone.

"What do you mean you don't have one?" Scott asked her as he sat beside her. "Of course you do, I've seen you use it before."

She shook her head, "I don't anymore. I lost Isaac. My family is gone. I lost Alex..." She looked down at her hands on her knees, feeling numb to it all. She should be more upset, she knew, but she just felt empty. No tears to shed in an empty vessel.

"Then find a new anchor," Scott echoed the words she'd whispered in his ear once upon a time, seeming so long ago now that he repeated them. "Like you told me to." Immediately he wished he hadn't said that, remembering that it was his hallucination of her that told him this, not her in the flesh.

She gave him a confused look, her brows furrowing into a squiggly line on her forehead above the sunglasses she wore, "What? I never said that."

"Um..." Scott's mouth opened and closed a few times, eyes wide, as he searched for some verbal shovel to dig himself out of this hole, "Um... I meant... you're the smartest person I know. If I could find a new anchor after losing Allison, I know you can find one after breaking up with Isaac."

"What's your new anchor?" Jessie asked him quietly, looking right at him.

He wished he could look into her eyes and say, 'It's you. It's always been you. I was just too blind and scared to know it.' But it wasn't that simple. "The people I care about."

For a long moment they stared at each other, and Scott was worried that the true meaning to his words could be seen in his eyes, but she didn't say anything about that. Instead she stood up, "Well, I'll try later. For now, we gotta go be with Stiles."

* * *

The minute Stiles' eyes landed on Jessie, he leaped out of his hospital bed and wrapped his arms around her tightly, afraid she was just part of his waking nightmare. But he felt her hug him back almost as fiercely and Scott assured him that she was real. Georgie stood back, letting the long lost friends reunite. The teens then followed the MRI technician as well as Stiles' dad and Scott's mom into the MRI exam room.

"Stiles, just to warn you," the doctor started, "you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through metal coils inside the machine. Uh, if you want we can get you earplugs or headphones."

Stiles slouched on the MRI bed, fiddling with his fingers. He shook his head, distracted, "Uh, no, no. I don't need anything."

"Hey," the Sheriff got his son's attention, "we're just on the other side of that window. Okay?"

Stiles nodded as Melissa and his dad followed the doctor into the other room. But the teens stayed behind. Stiles chewed on his thumbnail, his other hand held in Georgie's, "You know what they're looking for, right? It's called frontotemporal dementia. Areas of your brain start to shrink... It's what my mother had. It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers – and there's no cure."

Georgie's hands tightened around his, she was trying to fight the tears in her eyes, "We'll figure something out – if you have it... we'll figure something out."

"She's right," Jessie added. "We're not going to lose you to this."

"If you do have it," Scott finally spoke. "We'll do something.  _I'll_  do something."

Stiles and Scott shared a look, both knowing exactly what he meant. Scott leaned forward and the best friends shared a tight hug, letting Stiles let out a little emotion he'd been holding back in his fear. Truthfully, he was terrified of dying the way his mother had. He didn't want that.

* * *

Derek had gone to Kira to try and figure out what Barrow had wanted with her. It took them all the way back to the place she was attacked, and where Derek made a horrible realization. He drove Kira to the hospital to meet up with Scott and tell him what he'd figured out. Kira got out after him but paused in her steps, not wanting to go inside. "I don't know if I should go in. You're going to tell Scott that Barrow might have used foxfire created by me to jump start the Nogitsune's power inside Stiles."

"Yeah," Derek nodded.

"Basically that I helped a dark spirit take control of his best friend," Kira gnawed on her lip.

Derek considered it when he heard her say it out loud, "You should probably wait here."

* * *

Stiles laid in the MRI bed inside the machine, hearing the doctor's voice over a intercom system, "Okay, Stiles. This will take about 45 minutes to an hour. Now remember, try not to move. Even just a little bit. Stiles, you're going to hear that noise now. It's going to be a loud clanging. Kind of like a hammer hitting an anvil."

A loud metal clang sounded over his head, introducing itself. CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

* * *

Outside in the waiting room, Scott and Jessie sat across from Derek while Georgie paced back and forth between them. "You know the stuff you were telling me about chemo signals earlier?" Scott asked Derek. "It reminded me of the time you were teaching me to use anger to control the shift."

Derek sort of snorted at that, the noise didn't quite escape him but the intent was there, "I think you ended up teaching me more about that."

"Are you teaching me again?" Scott asked him seriously.

"Think of it more like sharing a few trade secrets," Derek hedged. "You know, I took Cora back to South America, right? It's where she spent most of her time after the fire. But that's not the only reason I left. I needed to talk to my mother."

"Your dead mother?" Jessie chimed into the conversation.

He nodded, "She told me something that changed my perspective on a lot of things. She said that my family didn't just live in Beacon Hills. They protected it. This town needs someone to protect it. Someone like you."

"And someone like you to teach me a few trade secrets," Scott grinned weakly.

"Protection..." Georgie murmured, stopping her pacing. "Stiles is always trying to protect us."

Scott abruptly stood up, "Oh my god. That's why he was on the roof."

They all got up and started racing up to the roof. When they got up there Derek asked what they were looking for.

"I'm not sure," Scott mumbled, "but I think Stiles wasn't just up here struggling with himself. I think he was struggling not to do something."

"Scott," Jessie called to him. Everyone looked over to see that she had found a large duffel bag full of wires and tools. Scott and Derek gaped at them and then looked up to see a black wire frayed.

* * *

The scan wasn't over yet but the doctor could see a picture start to form on the screen. And by his expression, Melissa and the Sheriff knew that it wasn't good. He sighed, "See this?" pointing to some areas of Stiles' brain. "The tissue here and there. Both those spots are showing signs of atrophy."

Alec stared at the scans, muttering hopelessly, "Atrophy."

"I'm sorry," the doctor sighed.

Inside the MRI machine, Stiles was beginning to feel dizzy. Suddenly, everything seemed darker and he was no longer inside the machine, standing outside of it with his own clothes on. In front of him stood the subject of his nightmares, the man in the leather jacket, wrapped in dirty gauze.

His mouth full of silver sharp fangs hissed, "Have you figured out my riddle yet? If you answer correctly, we might consider letting them go."

"Letting who go?" Stiles asked, feeling fear paralyze him.

"Your family," the Nogitsune looked through the window to where Melissa and the Sheriff stood close together. "Your friends. Everyone who ever meant something to you. We're going to destroy all of them, Stiles." He paused, whispering menacingly, "One—by—one."

"Why?" Stiles whispered, a tear falling from his eye.

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it," the figure said instead. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Stiles insisted, getting sick and tired of all of this.

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it?" it repeated. "What is it?"

"I don't know!" Stiles turned away from the dark thing.

The Nogitsune reached up and started rapidly unwinding the gauze around it's head. "Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it? What is it?"

Stiles covered his ears, "I don't know!" But it was as if time stopped when the answer finally occurred to him and he whispered, "A shadow." He slowly turned around, seeing hair and a face sticking out of the gauze until it was gone, to reveal... himself.

The doctor, Melissa and the Sheriff all flinched when it went dark inside the MRI room, Melissa asking, "What was that?"

"It sounded like a power surge," he answered.

Alec was looking into the room to check on Stiles, only to see that the MRI machine was empty, "Where's my son?"

* * *

On the roof, the sparking frayed wire suddenly broke, sparks exploding over them. The thick black wire whipped down, striking Jessie in the face. Scott shouted her name as he saw her fall to the ground.

Everyone huddled over her but she sat up quickly, not a mark on her skin, but her glasses were completely destroyed. She pulled them off, revealing her still-bright-blue-glowing eyes.

"Your eyes..." Derek breathed in shock.

Jessie stood up, brushing her jeans off, "Later. Right now, we've got bigger things to worry about."

* * *

Stiles – now, really, the Nogitsune – stalked down the hospital hallway, the overhead lights flickering above him. An amused smile flickered on his face as he saw Kira's mother, Noshiko, standing in the open elevator.

She stared him down, her stance straight and powerful, "You know me. Then you remember that I won't be deterred by your choice of host. Even if it's an innocent boy."

The Nogitsune slowly grinned, "Are you threatening us?" He stepped closer to the woman, "Now I'm threatening you. We're not really afraid of your little fireflies."

As he began to walk away she called after him, "If the Oni can't defeat you, I know someone who will."

* * *

Kira was still standing outside as night fell when she heard something above her. She looked up towards the roof, seeing a large black electrical wire whipping and flailing in the air, dropping down towards her. She breathed, "Oh my god," just as it began it's descent for her.


	12. Void

Connor groaned deep in his throat when his phone rang and he saw his mother's name on the screen. But given her recent fascination with Jessie and her destiny, Connor knew he had to take the call, "Yes, mother?"

"Something is about to happen at the hospital," she rushed out. "Jessica's beau – that Isaac fella – is going to get hurt and she's going to try and give him her blood. It'll kill him, and ruin her. You need to stop her, and help her face this Nogitsune. You need to be there for her, Connor. You need to help her heal, she's going to die soon enough if she doesn't at least try."

Connor sighed deep in his chest, knowing things were only going to get worse.

* * *

Kira was still standing outside as night fell when she heard something above her. She looked up towards the roof, seeing a large black electrical wire whipping and flailing in the air, dropping down towards her. She breathed, "Oh my god," just as it began it's descent for her.

The wire thrashed and danced in front of her as she dodged it. An ambulance approached from the side just as the wire smacked into it's windshield. The driver swerved into a fire hydrant, water spraying out of it, flooding the parking lot's asphalt.

Isaac and Allison pulled up in her blue Mazda, getting out just as Kira shouted, "Get back! Everyone, get back!"

The ambulance driver stepped out, his foot splashing into the water and electricity driving through his body. He fell limp onto the ground, twitching.

Isaac pushed Allison away from the water as he noticed the danger, but the puddle approached him and enveloped his feet and he was electrocuted, falling into the water with a thumb, completely still.

A car honked as it drove through the water in all the confusion, stopping just at the edge when the car skidded. A woman stepped out right into the water and suffered the same fate.

Scott, Derek, Jessie and Georgie just arrived to the scene as Connor came to the other side from his car. Jessie noticed Isaac's body, "Isaac!" and made to run to him but froze when she heard Connor shout at her.

"No, Jessie! It'll kill him!"

She felt her body go stiff and cold. Her eyes glazed over and Scott looked at her in concern. In his haste to stop her, Connor didn't see how close he was to the growing flood of water and he stepped in, shouting out in pain and falling to his stomach and face. Jessie snapped out of her frozen reverie and called out, "Connor!" Without preamble, she leaped over the water as if flying, with no effort, until she was besides Connor's body. She dragged him into the safe dry street and flustered over his unconscious form. With his hearing, Scott heard her mumble to herself, "I can't lose anyone else."

He watched as she lifted her wrist to her mouth and bit into the skin, blood dripping down her chin. She pinched Connor's cheeks until his lips opened and pressed her open wound to his mouth, letting a few drops of blood fall onto his tongue. Scott watched her lick the excess blood from her arm and saw no wound there anymore. That and her face going unmarked by the frayed electrical wire told him that she healed much faster than anything he'd ever seen.

Scott didn't notice the black wire whipping around until Kira caught it. She felt power, felt confidence, and wrapped her bare hand around the sparking broken end of it, absorbing the electricity. The hospital lights and sign flickered, eventually staying out just as people evacuated onto the street and yelled and screamed at the scene. Kira didn't notice her mother staring at her with wide eyes as she filed out with the crowd.

Derek had bent at Isaac's side, putting a finger to his neck, listening intently, "Isaac? He's not breathing!" He looked over to the Alpha, "Scott! He's not breathing!"

* * *

Scott felt heavy in the morning. He didn't want to wake up and his body felt like lead when he finally dragged himself out of bed. Derek's last words to him last night rang through his head.

_You have to tell Stilinski. You have to tell him what's really wrong with Stiles._

He didn't even get to figure out what was wrong with Jessie. She left soon after Connor woke up, as if he hadn't just been electrocuted. Scott watched them disappear before he helped the EMTs and nurses wheel in Isaac and the others injured into the hospital. He would flinch when he remembered the ugly burn scars crawling up Isaac's neck and arms.

Eventually, he found himself walking into the kitchen where his mother sat at the table with a cup of coffee that looked like it had gone cold. "Any news?"

She shook her head, "They're still looking for him. It's past the 48 hour mark, but I guess if anyone's going to be missing two days and turn up just fine, it's Stiles."

"What about Isaac?" Scott asked her.

She stood up, dumping her coffee, "Maybe we should go by the hospital before school."

They got to the hospital soon. And technically without permission, Melissa used her key card to let themselves into Isaac's room. Inside, Scott was surprised to see Jessie sitting on a chair next to Isaac. Scott lightly touched her shoulder, jolting her, "Hey, how long have you been here?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. A while. I don't really sleep anymore so it's not like I'm missing anything."

"How did you get the nurses to let you in?" Melissa asked curiously, her eyebrows cinching together. "You're technically not family."

"Just another perk of being a vampire," Jessie hinted. "Powers of persuasion."

"All right," Melissa nodded, accepting these things in stride. "Don't stay too long. You have school soon."

Melissa let herself out to go to work. Scott and Jessie looked at Isaac. He laid on the bed, comatose, his face and arms scarred with raised flesh and black marks from his suffering. The machines around him beeped monotonously and Jessie felt bile rising in her throat, but never escaping.

"He should be healing by now," Jessie thought out loud.

Scott's mind flashed to what he'd seen her do with Connor, "Back outside, when Connor was hurt, I thought I saw you..."

"Feed him some of my blood?" Jessie finished for him. "Yeah, I did. Vampire blood heals mortal wounds." She heaved a sigh, "Connor came to warn me not to try it with Isaac."

"Why don't you?" Scott asked her. "Then he'd probably be fine."

"Vampire blood is poisonous to werewolves, Scott," she revealed. "It wouldn't kill him, but it would stop his enhanced healing, his enhanced senses, his enhanced strength. For centuries werewolves hunted down vampires because they thought our blood would be a lycanthropy cure. It's never been proven, but that's the reason popular culture believes there's some feud between vampires and werewolves."

Scott stayed quiet, moving to stare at Isaac's still form again. Jessie was still staring at Isaac's burnt up face, she hadn't taken her eyes off of him. She felt completely hopeless, "I am suddenly this super powerful being, my blood can heal any human, I can heal any injury almost instantly, I am faster, stronger, I can even compel people – but I can't help Isaac."

Scott couldn't help it but he felt his stomach drop at her tone as she spoke about Isaac. To distract himself, he reached forward and grasped Isaac's arms. Jessie watched as he concentrated and grunted in discomfort as black veins crawled up his skin. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and pulled away, "It won't heal him, but it helps with the pain." He paused, glancing out the side of his eye line towards Jessie, "Being back, does it mean you came back for Isaac?"

"You mean, do I still love him?" Jessie guessed, sighing after. "Part of me will always love Isaac, Scott. Just like part of you will always belong to Allison. But it's different now. And honestly, I don't feel much of anything anymore." Before he could intervene, she continued, "We need to focus on Stiles. On what's inside of him. On getting it out."

"I'm working on it," Scott promised her.

She stood up from her seat and looked at him, her eyes still glowing bright cobalt blue, "Let me help."

* * *

Jessie trailed after Scott while Kira talked to them about what she'd read about the kitsune spirits, "...The thing is, in all of the stories, kitsune are tricksters. They're mischievous. They don't really get caught up in right or wrong or even understand it."

"What's that mean?" Scott asked, totally perturbed. "It's just doing this for the hell of it?"

"No, there was something else I found," Kira stated, hesitantly. "If you somehow offend a Nogitsune, it can react pretty badly."

"How do you offend a Nogitsune?" Scott pondered.

"Who knows?" Jessie shrugged sardonically. "But if it's hurting people and possible doing worse things? Someone really offended it."

* * *

Georgie stood numbly at her locker. She couldn't believe what it had come to. She had just found Stiles only for him to disappear again. And it was revealed that he was possessed by a dark kitsune spirit out for blood just for kicks. It seemed like her world was coming unraveled around her and she couldn't do anything to keep all the pieces together.

She pulled out some of the books she needed, hearing whispers around her. She wondered if they were whispering about her. Oh the poor girl, her boyfriend is crazy. Her boyfriend is missing. She slammed her locker shut, startling some people next to her. But she didn't care. She shouldered her bag and walked off to class, wondering if Stiles would just show up. She wondered if she would ever really get him back.

She wondered if it was really  _him_  that took her virginity the night he disappeared.

* * *

Scott had to go to class so Jessie roamed the halls, thinking it was pitiful that no one enforced truancy anymore. The security was pathetic ever since Peter as the Alpha trapped them all inside of the school for a night.

She flinched when she heard a high pitched whistle. It pulsed in her ears and she knew it was an emitter – one of Argent's emitters. She raced to follow the sound, finding herself in the basement, walking back to the boiler room. She stopped cold when she saw Stiles' back. She felt her hands form into fists as Stiles slowly turned around.

His eyes widened when he saw her, holding his hands up defensively, one of them holding the emitter, "Okay, I know what you are thinking, but it's me. I swear to god, it's me."

Before she could really consider it she heard a growl behind her. She whipped around to see Aiden and Ethan changing and gunning for Stiles. Purely on instinct, she threw her hands up, "No!" and a blue energy force surged out of her palms. Ethan and Aiden slammed into it, it throwing their bodies back onto the floor. Scott walked over them, holding his hands up as if in peace.

"Jessie, it's okay," Scott eased in. "Is it Stiles?"

"I think so," she answered him, letting her arms fall to her sides, and the force field fell with them.

"I swear it's me," Stiles insisted. "I don't know where I've been the last two days or what I've been doing, but this is me. I promise."

"Do you know what happened at the hospital?" Jessie asked him, her mind flashing to Isaac's burnt body laying in the hospital bed.

"I know more than that," Stiles told them, pulling a back out and spreading out a paper map on the table. "You see this? It's a blueprint of the hospital's electrical wiring. You see all these markings in red?"

"Yes, we see," Jessie told him a little stiffly.

"That's my handwriting," he revealed. "I know I did this. I caused the accident. And everything in this bag, it's all stuff that could be part of something bigger."

They all looked inside, seeing tools and other dangerous looking things. Ethan pulled up a sharp saw, "What the hell have you been up to?"

"I think something worse," Stile spoke gravely. "A lot worse."

They began pulling out various tools and wires and pieces of metal. Aiden tilted his head, "What the hell were you doing? Building a Terminator?"

Stiles paused, "Thank you for that."

"Guys, I found a map," Jessie told them, spreading it out on the table. "It's highlighted the cross country trail. If it's the same as I remember."

"That's the Tate car, where Malia's family died," Scott jabbed a finger on the map.

"You mean that's where her father put the steel-jawed traps," Aiden growled.

Stiles felt like his chest was compressing, "Guys, the cross country team is going out there now. Georgie is going out there now!"

* * *

Georgie planted the tippy toe of her sneakers in the dirt besides some of the other cross country girls. She saw that Scott, Stiles and Isaac were no where to be found, and honestly she didn't expect them to just show up like the last few nights hadn't happened. Stiles was still MIA. Isaac was still out of commission. And Scott was... well, she didn't want to think about why he was missing practice. At least she had Kira by her side.

When Coach blew his whistle though, Kira ran off with this supernatural speed. Sometimes, Georgie hated being a witch. She was embedded into this supernatural world without the perks of enhanced reflexes or speed. By any other standards, she was a weak human. Only she could cast some small-time spells and spit smoke out of her hands.

She ran as fast as she could while pacing herself, her feet making fast crunching noises as she crushed the leaves under her. Suddenly, she felt a gust of wind as the twins and Scott all ran past her. "Scott?" She saw them flagging some of the runners down. She ran faster to see what was wrong, feeling this hot lead lump fall in the pit of her stomach. "Scott!"

Before she could get any farther, she felt someone tackle her from behind. She struggled under them, kicking and flailing to get them off of her as they turned her body around. "Geez, Georgie, it's me! Stiles!" She gaped up at her boyfriend, finally calming down.

"Stiles?" she asked, unsure if this was just a wistful daydream or not. She couldn't really tell what was real anymore.

"It's really me, babe," he whispered, running his hands over her sides as he stood up and helped her to her feet. "Are you okay? We gotta get out of here, there's something here."

"What?" she asked as the other runners and Coach coming up behind her skidded to a stop when Scott, the twins, Jessie and Stiles all yelled for them to stop.

Stiles return was a sure shock to the others, even Coach, but before they could do anything the spaz started rummaging through the dirt and the leaves looking for something. His hands found something round and metal, pulling up a metal circle that was part of some chain. Everyone watched warily as he started pulling at the chain, following it until he got to the end. It was attached to nothing.

"Congratulations, Stilinski," Coach sarcastically jeered. "You found a length of chain. Can somebody now please tell me what the hell's going on?"

Jessie noticed it a half-second earlier than Scott as the Coach walked closer to a trip wire above the ground. "Coach!" Scott tried to warn but Jessie acted quicker and stepped in front of the Coach just as the man walked through the wire and an arrow went whizzing through the air, hitting her in the back just under her right shoulder blade.

Screams erupted through the runners as she 'fell' putting on a show of pain. She heard Scott cry out her name and come to her side. She heard someone call out that they were calling an ambulance and Jessie inwardly cursed herself. She spoke lowly as the twins and Stiles came over to her other side, only so Scott could hear, "Cancel the ambulance. I'll heal instantly if you just pull the damn thing out."

"That won't look weird," Stiles quipped.

"Then just carry me out of here," Jessie insisted. "I can't be seen in a hospital with no injuries when supposedly I was stabbed with an arrow."

Scott debated the options and then decided she was right and picked her up with a groan for show.

"What are you doing, McCall?" Coach shrieked.

"We can't wait for an ambulance," Scott sort of told the truth. "I'm taking her to the hospital myself."

Coach looked like he wanted to argue but he wasn't heard as the twins, Stiles and Georgie followed after Jessie and Scott. He carried her back to the school, hiding behind a building so he could set her down.

"Pull it out," she told him, showing him her back.

She didn't even flinch when he yanked out the arrow just as some kids and the new history teacher were running passed them, yelling for people to get out of the way. The group instantly followed after them to where the school buses were parked, some kids getting evacuated out of and away from the buses. They watched as the Sheriff and his new deputy, Jordan, arrived, the younger man strapping up in a bomb squad suit and going in.

Jessie trained her ears on their conversation, hearing Jordan keep his breath steady as he worked. She then heard his voice speak to the Sheriff over their radios, "It's not a bomb, sir, but there is something in the box."

They watched as the young deputy walked to the front of the buss and slapped a metal name plate that should have been on Sheriff Stilinski's desk back at the station.

Jessie gasped under her breath, but sharp enough for the wolves to hear.

"What is it?" Scott asked her.

"There's no bomb here, it's at the station—the police station," she told them, making her way through the crowd. Once Stiles, Jessie, Scott and Georgie were out of eye lines they raced to Stiles jeep and sped out of there, seeing a hoard of Sheriff vehicles racing with them. They had arrived at the police station just as an explosion went off in the building, shattering the windows.

If Jessie were still Jessie she would have felt her heart stop at all the suffering inside as she followed Stiles and Scott inside. She heard the Sheriff speaking loudly and clearly into a radio, "Get me an ambulance here, at the sheriff's station. We've got an explosion. We got multiple officers down. Multiple officers down."

Georgie nearly began to cry at the sight of disarray and strewn bodies, some dead, some writhing in pain.

Jessie stopped when she heard Chris Argent's voice groan, "Derek. Derek."

She raced over to find them right outside where the blast must have originated in the sheriff's private office. "Derek!?"

The werewolf groaned as she sped to his side, "I'm okay."

"He saved my life," Chris said as if in a daze.

Jessie looked at his back and saw shards of glass stuck in nearly every square inch of it and gasped, "Oh my god."

"Can't you," Chris groaned, "give him your blood? Heal him?"

"My blood is poisonous to wolves, Chris," she told him. "It wouldn't help."

"Go help the others," Derek told her. "I'll be okay."

She took his word for it and joined Scott and Stiles by one very bad off officer. Stiles was grappling, "Can you do something? Take his pain? Anything to make it easier?"

"I can do you one better," Jessie whispered, looking around before biting into her wrist until it bled. She let droplets of it fall into the officers mouth before licking the skin closed. She looked out the window and saw it was starting to get dark, "The Oni will be coming again."

"We gotta get Stiles out of here," Scott said.

"You guys go ahead," Jessie told them. "I'll keep healing people here and meet you. Georgie, go with them, they may need your kind of healing since I can't heal Scott."

Georgie nodded and followed the boys out of the station to the parking lot. It had gotten dark and started raining heavily as they got the animal clinic. "Why are we here?"

"It's protected like my house with mountain ash," Scott answered her, rushing out of the car just as the Oni appeared in puffs of smoke. "Get inside!" he shouted.

Georgie pushed Stiles towards the back entrance, "Get inside, I'll hold them off."

"What?" Stiles gaped at her. "You can't take them on."

"Just get inside," she shouted at him, turning towards the Oni. Scott had transformed into his wolf self and started slashing at them and dodging their sword strikes. Georgie threw out her hands and smoke flew out of her palms, smashing into the masked ninjas. They disappeared in the hail of blackness, all of their swords clanging to the ground to be pelted by falling water.

She shouted towards Scott, "That's only temporary! We need to get inside!"

They rushed inside, neither Scott nor Georgie seeing Stiles' hands clasp around two of the swords left behind. Once inside Scott began to speak, "Okay, the mountain ash will hold them off but they can get through eventually, we know that."

Suddenly, a sword launched itself through Scott's back, causing him to grunt in pain and Georgie to scream, seeing Stiles holding the hilt of the sword, "Does it hurt? You should have done your reading, Scott. See, a Nogitsune feeds off of chaos, strife, and pain. You took it from Isaac, the dying cops. All that pain. You took it all. Now, give it to me."

He shoved the sword deeper, Scott gasping in pain. Georgie cried out, "What are you doing!? Stiles, you have to take control."

The Nogitsune smirked at her, shoving Scott with some inhuman strength towards the wall. The werewolf groaned and fell to the ground, out of commission. Void Stiles picked up the other sword, advancing towards Georgie. He grabbed her throat and held her against the wall before she could do anything. She couldn't risk hurting Stiles by using her powers.

"You stupid girl, do you actually think you can get through to him?" Void Stiles taunted her. "You're nothing to him. You're just a placeholder until Lydia returns his feelings."

"You're lying!" she hissed, finding hard to breathe.

"Am I?" he tutted, shaking his head. "You know it in your heart. You know he'll never love you, and you'll never save him." He paused, some sadistic smile on his face, "But hurting you will hurt him." With that said, he brandished the sword and stabbed her through the abdomen. She bent forward, screaming out in pain as the blade sliced through her body. Tears blurred her vision as the Nogitsune leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "And just to answer the question, I'm sure has been on your mind—yes, it was  _me_  that night."

She flinched away from him in horror as he pushed the blade in further. Scott watched from behind them, finally finding the strength to rip the sword out of himself, "Stop."

"You really have to learn, boys and girls," Void Stiles laughed. "You really have to learn not to trust a fox. They're tricksters. They'll fool you. They'll fool everyone."

"Not everyone," Deaton's voice appeared to the side of them just as the vet stabbed a syringe into the side of Void Stiles' neck. He pushed the plunger immediately, warranting a muted grunt from Void Stiles as he fell to the floor.

"What was that? A cure?" Scott asked.

"The fox is poisoned, but it's not dead," Deaton answered. "Not yet."

Georgie fell to the ground onto her back, blood started to drip out of her mouth. Scott clamored to his knees next to her, grabbing her hand and taking away her pain, as much as he could, "Hold on, Georgie. I'm so sorry."


	13. Eichen House

"Jessie's on her way," Scott spoke urgently to the spasming body of Georgie as Deaton set an unconscious Stiles on one the steel tables. Scott looked up helplessly at his boss, "Is there something you can do?"

"Set her on the other table—carefully," Deaton told him. "We should not take the sword out until Jessie comes to heal her with her blood."

"Does vampire blood affect witches like werewolves?" Scott asked worriedly.

"I'm hoping witches are close enough to humans so it will heal her only," Deaton answered truthfully.

"Scott," Georgie's voice grew weaker as he picked her up to place her on the steel table next to Stiles. "Tell him—tell Stiles... it's not his fault..."

"You can tell him yourself," Scott told her. "Just hang on, Jessie's on her way and she's gonna heal you. You're gonna be fine."

"You have to tell him," Georgie whined, tears bleeding out of her eyes and falling down the sides of her face. "You have to tell him—I still love him. Tell him. Please."

Scott gaped at her, feeling hopeless, "Okay, okay, I'll tell him."

"Scott!" Jessie's voice shouted through the vet's office as the bell above the front door rang.

"Jessie!" he yelled back to her. "We're back here, you have to hurry!"

Jessie appeared in the back room with Connor behind her. She hurriedly ripped the sword out of Georgie's body and bit into her own wrist, pinching Georgie's cheeks together – as the girl could barely keep her eyes open anymore – and tipped her chin back, letting drops of blood fall into her open mouth. "Drink it, Georgie. Drink."

They watched as Georgie's eyes stayed closed. Then her eyes shot open and she started gasping, rolling over to her side and spitting out leftover blood and spit onto the floor. Scott and Jessie sighed in relief.

* * *

Jessie had to go check on Derek since he and Chris were being framed for murder of Silver finger. She told Scott to get Georgie home and have her rest. She may have been physically healed, but she was far cry from emotionally stable after her possessed boyfriend nearly killed her.

* * *

"How long do I have to lay low?" Nuala snapped at her older sister. For days she'd been forced out of the field, watching her sister walk in and out of the house trying to figure out how to stop the Nogitsune running around town.

"Until you learn your lesson," Dechtire told her, staring over all the papers of notes she'd compiled.

Nuala sighed in frustration, "I get it!"

"No, you don't," Dechtire interrupted her. "You exposed yourself to the pack. Now, they won't trust us because you were reckless."

"Was I not supposed to fight the Oni, the threat? I thought that was our job!" Nuala pointed out.

"Right, but you acted too soon," she said. "What were you doing at a rave anyway? With weapons?"

"The pack was there, it was obvious they'd get attacked," Nuala told her. "And I was right. They did get attacked and I helped them. Maybe if you let me out, I can explain to them and gain their trust-"

"It's too late for that!"

"No, this is on you!" Nuala cut her off. "You haven't been doing shit. You've just been playing special agent and doing research in preparation for action you're never gonna take!"

Dechtire was quiet and Nuala was glad they were alone in the house. Ed had gone out to drink his sorrows away, typically missing his past partner in crime, Harry.

"I know losing Dean was hard on you," Nuala said softly. "But I am not gonna die on you like he did. I am smarter than that. You can't keep me holed up here anymore. I can't just walk away, you should know that."

She reached over and grabbed the car keys from the bowl on the counter and walked out the front door.

* * *

Scott hoped to God he wasn't too late, racing through the night on his motorcycle to the front grounds of Eichen House. He saw the Sheriff's cruiser parking in front of the crazy house, he and his son stepping out towards the entrance. He abandoned his bike and ripped off his helmet, rushing to them. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The Sheriff looked awkward, "Because we wanted to avoid something like this."

"It's only 72 hours," Stiles assured him.

"This is the same place where Barrow came from," Scott pointed out, gesturing to the looming building. "The guy who had a tumor inside him filled with flies. You don't know everything yet."

"I know enough," the Sheriff told him exasperated. "Nogitsunes, Kitsunes, Oni, or whatever they're called."

Stiles scratched his neck with a quirked lip, "Wow, that was actually all surprisingly correct."

"Scott, I saw a MRI that looked exactly like my wife's," The Sheriff spoke again. His tone was so defeated. "And it terrifies me. I'm headed down to L.A. tomorrow to talk to a specialist."

"Then why are you putting him in here?" Scott asked helplessly.

"He's not," Stiles spoke up. "It was my decision."

"Stiles, I can't help you if you're in here," Scott told his best friend.

"And I can't hurt you again," Stiles said, his voice becoming grave. "And I certainly can't hurt Georgie again—any more than I already have."

"Georgie doesn't blame you," Scott tried. "Even before Jessie healed her, she wanted me to tell you that she still loved you. You can't walk away from that. Deaton's got some ideas. And Argent's calling people. Jessie's looking into it too. We're gonna find something. And if we can't..." they didn't have a real back up plan.

"If you can't..." Stiles trailed off, "if you can't, then you have to do something for me, okay?" He stepped closer to Scott, so his dad wouldn't hear. "Make sure I never get out." He finally turned around to walk into the building, his father behind him, but he stopped short, turning back to face Scott, calling out, "Tell Georgie... tell her that he... it – whatever – lied about that night. It  _was_  me."

Scott watched after his best friend confused on what he meant, but he figured that Georgie would know.

* * *

The Sheriff walked his son in with his belongings, a nurse flagging them down, "Mr. Stilinski? This way please." She led them into an office of sorts and gestured to two chairs for them to sit in. "First 72 hours there's no phone calls, no e-mails, no visitors. We will be taking you from here to a brief physical. In the morning, you'll be assessed by a staff psychologist, speak to a social worker and attend group therapy."

"I feel like we're forgetting something," the Sheriff muttered.

"You will be wearing these, Stiles," the nurse handed the younger man some white velcro sneakers. "No laces allowed. You don't have a belt, do you?"

Stiles lazily shook his head, keeping quiet.

"And please empty your pockets into here," the nurse slammed a plastic bin on the desk, allowing Stiles to start pulling his phone and such out of his pockets and plopping them into the bin.

"Your pillow," the Sheriff murmured in realization to his on, "your pillow. We forgot your pillow."

"Dad, it's okay," Stiles tried to reassure him, in an unusually quiet tone.

"No, no," he waved his hands in frustration. "You're never going to be able to fall asleep. We... we got to go back."

"It's fine, dad," Stiles insisted. "I don't need it."

His father stammered, "I can't believe I forgot it. I mean, every time that we've ever stayed in a hotel, the first thing you pack is your pillow."

"You can bring it tomorrow," he tried. "It's all right."

"Okay, you know what?" the Sheriff snapped, standing up. "Stop. Stop. Enough. Stiles, get your stuff. I'm not checking you in here if you're not gonna get one good night's sleep."

"Dad, I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks," Stiles told him quietly. The disheartened father eventually left, eager to get to L.A. and get back as soon as he could. Stiles followed the nurse up some stairs, but slowed in his steps when he heard a voice up several levels muttering.

"I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky."

He looked up, seeing a boy around his age, standing up above him. "Hey, do you see that?" he tapped the nurse. He started walking up the stairs faster and faster towards the boy.

"Stiles, wait for me," she called up but he didn't listen.

"That guy up there," he pointed, not seeing her face when she finally did look.

"I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky." The boy wrapped something around his neck, Stiles couldn't see what it was for sure. "I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry. I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry." He stepped up on the railing of the stairs.

Stiles started running, but he was many levels too low. "Stop! Somebody stop him!"

"I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry..." the boy stepped off into the open hole of the winding stairs and fell, his neck snapping in the air as his body swung right in front of Stiles as the nurse caught up with him. He stared.

"Oh!" the nurse screamed. Stiles only stared at the swinging boy, wondering what place he was in, and if he was really safe here.

* * *

The next morning the vet's office had a gathering around the conference phone. "Did you have any trouble with Ikeda?" Deaton spoke into his phone at his desk, rather Jessie's old desk. Jessie stood against the wooden gate between him and the others. Allison and Scott leaned against the front rail on the customer side, Georgie sitting in the chairs behind them.

Chris' voice was heard over the speaker phone, "Only minor. The white wolf was exactly where you said it would be."

"But we have two problems now," Deaton said. "First, the lichen is not a cure. It'll wear off in a matter of days."

"But the Oni won't go after him now," Georgie asked, her only worry in the world being Stiles' well being. "While he's himself? Right?"

"I hope," Deaton told her diplomatically. "Eichen House has an unusual history. It might not be all that safe for the Oni there as well."

"What's the second problem?" Chris asked.

"I checked with your contacts in Japan," Deaton said into the phone, a little louder. "The Yakuza Boss you saw killed by the Oni never found the scroll."

"What scroll?" Scott asked.

"A Shugendo Scroll," Jessie answered for Deaton, speaking for the first time.

He nodded, "The Shugendo were the ascetic mystics of Japan. The scroll had information on how to exorcise a Nogitsune."

Georgie stood up eagerly at the hope that Stiles could be saved, "We need that scroll."

"Exactly," Deaton agreed. "And I did get a name of the man who last purchased it. Kincaid."

"He was with Katashi," Allison finally contributed. "He's the guy who met with us to buy the gun."

"Sounds like Katashi wanted the scroll for himself," Deaton mused.

"But Stilinski already told me nothing like it was found among his things," Chris told them, alluding to the murder he was briefly been accused of.

"And a paranoid Katashi would keep it close," Deaton guessed. "Probably on him at all times."

"What does a Shugendo Scroll look like?" Allison asked.

Deaton stood up, turning to some drawers by Jessie and pulled out a large scroll of not-quite-white paper round around a dark piece of wood. "Something like this."

Allison held the scroll in his hands, "Do these come in different sizes?"

"Any size," Deaton nodded.

"What are you thinking?" Jessie noticed Allison's realization on her face.

"I think I know where it might be," the girl answered. "Katashi had this... prosthetic. It's why they called him Silver Finger. He lost his pinky when he and my dad met and had a silver top put on it. It was always with him."

"Chances are if they haven't found it at the Sheriff's station, then it's stashed in that pinky," Jessie murmured.

"We need to make a plan then," Scott determined. He cast a look behind him, seeing Georgie's eyes to the ground. "Hey, you okay?"

Georgie's hand flashed up to her stomach, right where Void Stiles had ran her through with the sword. She nodded, albeit numbly, to Scott, "I think—I think so."

Scott looked at the others, all watching concerned, and then stepped closer to Georgie, speaking quieter this time, "Wanna step outside? Get some air?"

She didn't answer before he tugged on her elbow to lead her outside, making sure not to venture out too far. "What's up?"

"I just can't stand the thought of Stiles in that place," she whispered, her eyes still downcast. "Did you tell him what I said?"

Scott nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah. He only went in there to avoid hurting us, you know that, right? He won't let himself hurt you again. Or me again. He just wants to protect us, and this is how for him."

"He didn't even say goodbye," her voice cracked, and Scott could see a tear fall down the side of her face. He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder, tucking her head into his neck like an older brother.

"He loves you," he told her. "I can see it. He wouldn't have done all of this if he didn't." The alpha paused, remembering the last thing his friend told him. "He also gave me a message for you."

Georgie pulled her head away from him to look at his face, "What was it?"

"He said that when the Nogitsune spoke to you, it was lying," Scott told her carefully, not fully understanding what Stiles had been talking about earlier himself. "He said it was really him that night."

Georgie breathed out a huge gust of relief from her lungs, feeling like a wolf trap that had been clamped on her chest had finally released her. She knew there was a possibility that Stiles was lying for her benefit, but she didn't care. She would choose to believe him. And choose to believe that everything the Nogitsune said was a lie—all of it. After all, you can never trust a fox.

She knew what she had to do, loping away from Scott with determination.

Scott watched her going towards her car that she had driven there and called after her, "Where are you going?"

"To Stiles," she told him as she opened up her door.

"What?" Scott gaped at her, running after her and stopping her from getting in the car. "Are you crazy? He's in a mental institution, Georgie, for three days."

"I can't wait that long, this could be the last time he's him," Georgie insisted, seating herself and pulling on her door, but Scott wouldn't let her close it.

"We'll find a way to help him, I promise," Scott swore, holding her door open wide. "But we need you to help."

"I need to see him before the poison wears off, Scott," Georgie borderline begged. "Please. I need to tell him – I just need to see him while I know it's him, talk to him. I can get in the place, no problem. I've broken into the Sheriff's station, I can do this. And no one will know. Let me go."

Scott looked at her, seeing the sheer desperation and determination on her face. He knew if he got her to come back inside, she'd just slip away again the second his back was turned. He couldn't force her to stay. So he sighed and let go of the door, shutting it softly on her, "Okay. But be careful. And don't stay too long."

"Thank you," was all she said before she started her car and drove off.

* * *

Stiles followed his new roommate, Oliver, around for a semi-tour as the goofy guy pointed people out and told him how the place he'd locked himself up in worked. "Now. Most of the people here are okay. The violent ones are in the closed unit. That's Hilary," he pointed to a brunette sitting by the porch. "She has OCD. That's Gary. He think he's Jesus Christ. Dan—also Jesus." He gestured to a darker girl sitting on a bench in fetal position, "That's Mary..."

"Mary Magdalene?" Stiles guessed.

"No, she also think she's Jesus. You'd be surprised how many Jesuses we get."

"Not really," Stiles mused out loud.

"Hey, how come you want to use the phone already?" Oliver asked, referring to how Stiles had yelled about getting a phone call the night before after the suicide.

"'Cause after one night, I've changed my mind about this place being safe for me," Stiles answered. "Or anyone. Ever."

"No, no, I think you're wrong," a young woman leaned at the phone box in front of them, the black phone clutched in her hands. Stiles couldn't see her face, but she had short curly black hair, like an Afro, and dressed in gray sweats. She seemed worried and stressed, her shoulders hunched. "I really think I should tell them. They're going to want to know the story. The whole story. I really think they should know." She paused. "Yes, I do." She paused again, her voice a whisper, "One of them is standing right behind me." She straightened up, abruptly hanging up the phone and walking off in a flitter of movement.

"Who was that?" Stiles pointed out her back to Oliver.

"That's Meredith. She's a little weird."

Stiles gave him a look, "You're a little weird. She's a lot weird." He finally got to the phone and picked it up, but there was no sound, no dial tone. He pressed the hook a couple times, it moving loosely. "It's dead."

"Yeah," Oliver said like it was obvious. "They turn off all the phones for 24 hours after a suicide."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?"

The loco kid shrugged, "Why didn't you ask? What are you going to do now?"

"I'm getting out of the this nut house," Stiles started walking off the way they were, stopping in his tracks when he saw a very familiar girl. "Malia?"

She turned around to face him, her face blank.

Stiles tried to smile, but it came out awkwardly, "Hey. It's Stiles. Do you remember me?"

Still with the blank stare.

"I'm friends with Scott. Remember. We were the ones who helped you out with..."

Suddenly, she clocked him right in the face. He grunted, falling down as she lunged on top of him, slapping and punching at him. Whistles went off as some orderlies ran over, two of them pulling Malia off of Stiles. Another grabbed Stiles and pushed him flat on the ground, his face pressing into some sort of crate in the ground, "What? Hey, what the Hell? She hit me."

"A few more like this, Malia, and you're headed to the closed unit," one tough man in white said.

Stiles struggled under the grip he was in, "Okay, wait, wait, wait. Stop. I didn't do anything." He eyes fell to the opening in the crate under him, and he felt the commotion fade around him as tunnel vision propelled him into the ground bellow, seeing a large industrial basement. And icy grip wrapped around his chest and throat when he realized he recognized this basement. It was the exact basement he had thought he was in the night he slept walked into the woods in the middle of the night. The exact one, where he had faced off with the Nogitsune inside of him.

"Enough!" a voice broke through, Morrell showing up in the chaos, yelling at the orderlies. "Enough!"

Stiles was pulled back to reality as they let him go, seeing Morrell crouching in front of him with a concerned look. "Stiles. You saw something, didn't you?"

"That basement," he nodded. "I've been down there before."


	14. Let Me In

Georgie crept along the brick wall outside Eichen house, unseen and unheard by the people around her. She found some vines crawling up the side of the brown brick, sturdy enough for climbing. Shoving a foot into the grooves, she pushed her body up and up the wall until she saw over the edge, swinging her leg around the top. There weren't the same vines on the other side of the wall for her to climb down so she threw her body towards the tree just next to her, climbing down the branches.

Wiping her hands off on her jeans, she made her way through the courtyard, still unseen and unheard by all – invisible. She walked on her toes to keep quiet out of habit, and made her way inside, following the voices until she got into a big room. Morrell sat in a circle of teenagers all dressed in gray sweats and such, like some kind of group therapy session. She held in her gasp when she saw Stiles in front of her, fidgeting like the boyfriend she knew and loved.

"I want to go back to the topic of guilt today," Morrell announced, dressed in black lace. "It might surprise you to hear me say that guilt is a good thing. It's a rather mature emotion." Georgie and the 'therapist' noticed Malia staring Stiles down, but the counselor was the one who spoke, "Malia, you said something about guilt the other day. You said it came with a visceral reaction."

"I said it made me feel sick to my stomach," she deadpanned, offering nothing else.

The boy sitting next to Stiles coughed rarely loudly during the pause. And Morrell waited until he was finished to continue, "Guilt often becomes physical. You feel it in your gut. It's not just psychological. How does guilt make you feel, Stiles?"

Stiles had been looking over his shoulder, rubbing his neck. His head snapped over to the counselor when he heard her speak to him, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Guilt. What does it make you feel?" she repeated.

"Nervous," he answered, and then his eyes widened when he noticed Georgie standing next to her. She quickly put a finger to her lips to quiet him, but found it safe to speak.

"I'm really here, baby," she assured him. "But only you can see and hear me. I used a spell. Just act natural."

He made himself look at Morrell as she spoke. "You feel an urgent need to make up for something you've done." Stiles' eyes found Georgie's while they heard these words. His eyes begged for redemption and her eyes gave it to him willingly. "To apologize. These are healthy responses. Does anyone know what we call someone who doesn't experience guilt?"

The boy next to Stiles timidly raised his hand, "Sociopath."

Morrell smiled at him, "That's right, Oliver." Her smile fell when she noticed the lines drawing up Stiles' neck while he rubbed at it. She abruptly stood up, "I'm sorry, everyone, but we need to take a break. Come with me, Stiles. I'd like to talk to you for a minute."

Georgie followed them into a large office as Morrell pulled him inside. She ran through the door before it slammed closed. Morrell walked Stiles over to her desk and turned him around. Stiles still looked down at Georgie in disbelief as Morrell dragged his shirt up his back to see the lines sprouting across his back like algae.

"It's called a Lichtenberg figure. They appear on lightning strike victims. The fact that they're appearing on you after a shot of Wolf Lichen is both significant and strange," she told him.

"By significant and strange, do you mean hopeful and optimistic?" Stiles asked, ever sarcastically, as his shirt fell back down.

Morrell reached into her medicine cabinet, "When the marks fade, the Nogitsune's grip over you will return." She handed him an orange prescription bottle.

"What are these? Sleeping pills?"

"Amphetamines," she answered. "Sleeping is exactly what you  _don't_  want to do. You're vulnerable when you're asleep."

"So, all I have to do is stay awake?" Stiles asked her, wondering if his borderline insomnia was actually saving him.

"For now," Morrell nodded. "If your friends haven't figured out something by the time those marks are gone, I'll come find you."

He looked at her, "To tell me what to do?"

She held up another glass bottle of liquid, "No, to give you an injection. Pancuronium Bromide. It causes respiratory paralysis."

Stiles gulped as he felt Georgie's hands fist the back of his shirt, "That sounds a lot like death."

"It's use for lethal injection, yes," she admitted.

He frowned deeply, "So, when the Nogitsune takes over, you're going to kill me?"

She kept a straight face as she answered, "I'm going to do what I've always done. Maintain the balance."

"Okay then," he smirked sarcastically. "I've missed our talks. Thanks for the illicit drugs."

As he turned with invisible Georgie by his side to walk away, Morrell called after him, "Stiles. Stay awake."

Stiles whispered under his breath as he and Georgie walked through the hallways, "What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you," she whispered back, even though she didn't have to be quiet. "While you were still you. Scott told me what you said—that it was lying."

He paused in his walking, turning to face her fully with one of the most gentle expressions she'd seen on his face. "He was lying when he told you it wasn't me. It  _was_  me. Georgie, it was me the whole time."

She sniffed, wiping under her eyes and breathed deeply to avoid breaking down, "When he told me it was him..."

"I know," Stiles whispered, walking closer to her until her back was to the wall and he was pressed into her. "I know. But he was lying. He couldn't fake the way I feel about you."

"The way you feel about me?" she breathed.

He looked into her eyes and she could sense no deception when he said, "I love you, Georgie."

"Who you talking to?" Oliver's voice scared both of them, Stiles abruptly jumping away and trying to seem casual.

"No—no one," he stuttered. "What are you doing down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Oliver mentioned in a serene voice.

Stiles gestured the the door down to the basement at the end of the hallway, "I need to get through here. To basement."

The boy eyed the door warily, "Doctors don't even have a key to this door. Only Brunski."

"Is that the head orderly?"

He nodded, "If you want them, you'll probably have to figure out a way to trick him."

"I can get them," Georgie told Stiles quietly. "But we should wait until it's later, or else he may notice that they're gone."

Stiles inclined his head before responding to Oliver, "Well, part of me is getting very good at playing tricks."

* * *

Allison opened her apartment door to Scott and the twins, leading them inside, "My father said all of the Katashi evidence is being moved to a Federal Lockup by armored car tonight. Probably within the next few hours."

"We're going to rob an armored car?" Ethan asked in disbelief.

"Well," Lydia chimed in from down the entry way, "we're gonna try."

The all piled into the den of the apartment as Scott filled in the twins, "If Allison can get one of her dad's GPS trackers on the armored car then we can follow it."

"Wouldn't it be better as Jessie?" Allison asked Scott. "Is she going to help?"

Scott shrugged, "I'm sure she is. Of course she is."

"No offense, Scott, but she doesn't exactly seem like herself," Lydia spoke slowly and awkwardly. "She seems a bit... apathetic, lately."

Scott sighed, "Look, I know she seems different than we remember. But we don't know what she went through wherever she was. She's still here to help us."

"He's right," Allison agreed. "We need her to get the tracker on the car. So, when it gets there..."

"We attack them?" Aidan guessed.

"No," Lydia gave him a look. "Your bikes will be in the middle of the road, looking like you guys got into an accident."

"And when the driver gets out to help..." Allison took over.

"We attack him?" Aidan guessed eagerly.

"No," Scott and Lydia said at the same time. Lydia continued, "You'll distract him and Scott will break open the back door."

"I hope," the Alpha muttered.

"And you'll get Katashi's finger," Allison concluded.

"You are so out of your league," Lydia quipped.

"Why aren't we just going to Stilinski for help?" Ethan asked.

"Because if he gets caught, then it's the Sheriff tampering with federal evidence," Scott explained to them.

"Guys, this is going to work. We can do this," Allison insisted. "We're losing Stiles. My Dad's in jail for murder. And we need to help Jessie get back to being the real Jessie, and figure out what happened to her. We need to do this."

* * *

During free time at Echo house, Stiles kept out of Brunski's way while Georgie stuck by the orderly's side to swipe his keys. She quickly passed them over and the couple made their way back to that door. Stiles began trying keys, his hands shaking as he muttered, "Come on—come on. I thought this guy had a key to everything."

Suddenly, a large hand slapped Stiles' shoulder, startling a scream out of Georgie that only Stiles heard. The man smirked as other orderly's surrounded them, "I do. But nobody has the key to that room." They all dragged Stiles to a large white room with a high small window as the only source of light. "Into the Quiet Room, little man. Want to tell us where you got these?" he held up the roll of keys.

"A vending machine," Stiles retorted.

The man chuckled, "I always love the sarcastic ones. Give him five of the Haldol."

Another man held out a syringe and Georgie could feel Stiles' anxiety and panic rolling off of him. He started thrashing as the orderlies held onto him. "Wait. What's that? Is that a sedative? Okay, hang on-hang on!"

Georgie tried to grab onto their arms and pull them away from Stiles, but her spell meant that her existence couldn't be detected by anyone but Stiles – meaning only he could see, hear and feel her. She was useless and she felt every bit of it.

Stiles kept fighting as the needle came closer, "Georgie, help me! I can't go to sleep. Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Get off me, man!" The needle stabbed into his back, the drug seeping into his bloodstream. His eyes immediately drooped as his body felt heavy. "I can't go to sleep... you don't understand." They dropped him onto the floor and walked out, locking the door and locking him and Georgie in.

Georgie knelt by his side, "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. I'll be right here."

"I gotta stay awake," he muttered drowsy in his voice. His eyes closed and he fell into a deep sleep, his head heavy on her lap.

* * *

Scott was heading out of his house, yet he saw a figure behind the screen door. And there was Jessie with her glowing blue eyes. "Hey Scott."

"You came," he stated the obvious, only looking at her through the screen.

She shrugged indifferently, "Allison called. I'm supposed to put the tracker on the armored car."

He pulled the screen door to let her and the selfish part of his brain wanted to spill his guts and tell her everything he was thinking and ask her everything he wanted to ask her. He wanted to tell her how he felt, to the real her, not the hallucination version of her that he was still seeing in crowds and with the group. As she walked into the house, he let one question slip out of his mouth, "Please tell me what's up with you."

Okay, not really a question.

Her eyebrow rose in an effort to look surprised, but he could see right through it. "What do you mean?"

"You show up out of nowhere and say you have no anchor, your eyes never stop glowing, you act like you're indifferent to everything and-" he took a breath. "My mom told me about what happened to you when you found Stiles in the woods. She said you freaked out, and thought you saw Jennifer and the Alpha pack."

"You're going to talk to me about hallucinations, Scott?" she almost smirked, almost looked like the old Jessie as she leaned against the kitchen island. "You really want to talk about this now? We don't have time for this, Scott."

"We have to make time, then," he responded, stepping closer to her. "What happened to you to make you like this?"

Jessie blew out some air through her nose, "This is a waste of time, Scott. It doesn't matter and we have work to do. Let's go."

* * *

Stiles muttered in his sleep until he jerked awake, his head still in Georgie's lap. He felt her caressing his hair back and humming lightly. He blinked his eyes open until her face came into focus above him. "You're finally awake. You had me worried."

"I'm still here..." he murmured as she helped him up.

"I heard this girl, Malia, through the door," Georgie began to tell him. "I altered my spell so she could hear me, it took a while but I got it right and she told me about another way to the basement. Through the Closed unit. When it's clear, I can break us out of here and we'll go down there."

* * *

Jessie's eyes were trained on the back of the armored car, Scott and Allison at her sides. She handled the tracker in her palm like it was an active grenade and waited for it to be clear before she sped forward and attached it under the back bumper. She hid on the other corner as the new Deputy showed up, walking to the passengers door.

"Okay, let's get out of here," he was saying and then she heard his intake of breath and the rustling that she knew was him getting out his gun. He was walking around the back when she heard Scott say they had to do something. She was about to take action and knock Parrish unconscious when a larger man busted out of the back door and slammed the officer's head against the car, letting him fall to the ground.

"Who the Hell is that?" Scott asked.

"Kincaid," Allison breathed out.

Scott stepped forward, trying to look strong and intimidating but Kincaid was at least two heads taller and had more muscle mass than the original Hulk. "We need that finger."

Kincaid voice made him all the more menacing, sounding as deep and graveling as Darth Vader, "Why should I give it to you?"

Jessie was tired of all the idle chit chat, and she could see the silver prosthetic with the scroll being held up in Kincaid's hands. So, she sped over to him, her body blurring even in the werewolf's eyes and clasped her hands around the brute's neck, using her other hand to snap the finger with the scroll from his fingers. She held him up, his feet dangling in the air, against the car. She could feel him trying to swallow under her hand as she tossed the finger to Scott behind her.

"Jessie, let him go, you're killing him!" Allison called out behind her.

She only squeezed tighter and listened to him gasp, "So, what? He's a killer, the world would be better off."

"But you're not a killer, Jessie," Scott argued with her. Standing right behind her.

"You don't know that," she snapped at him, inclining her head towards him with a grim expression. "A lot has changed about me since I've been gone. You said it yourself – I'm different."

Scott could feel his heart beat faster and he knew the next moment was crucial to bringing his Jessie back – even just a little bit. All he knew was that he could lose her. "Even if you have killed – I know you're not a murderer. There is nothing in the world that could turn you into a monster. Not you."

He could see her thinking about his words but trying to hold onto her indifference.

"Why don't you let her take him out?" Aidan's voice filtered through as he and his brother dropped down into the alley and Lydia came up from behind to stand with Allison.

"We know guys like him," Ethan agreed. "He's dangerous."

"So are we," Scott pointed out. "We came here to save a life, not take one."

Everyone was quiet, watching as Kincaid struggled in Jessie's grasp.

"Please just let him go," Scott pleaded with her. "We have the finger."

Slowly, she dropped Kincaid to his feet and let go of his neck. "If I ever see you around here again to hurt people – no one is going to stop me from taking you out."

* * *

"What exactly are we looking for down here, babe?" Georgie whispered, even though she didn't need to, as she and Stiles made their way into the basement.

Stiles looked around and caught sight of a figure carved and scratched into the wall, it look just like the mark behind the other's ears. "Something like that maybe?"

Georgie saw it and sighed, "Let's start looking then."

Soon enough, the couple were seated on a couch, surround by boxes of papers and photos and files. She held up a shock diagram, "I can't believe how medieval this place used to be. Not that it's much better now. They did electroshock, ice baths, trepanation? What the hell is trepanation?"

"It's when they drill into your head," Stiles informed her.

Georgie's eyebrows shot up to her forehead, "This place was just a bucket of fun, wasn't it?"

Stiles chuckled next to her, "Right." He looked through the papers before growing frustrated and throwing them down, "There's nothing here." He turned his back to his girlfriend and pulled his shirt up, "Are the lines still there?"

Georgie ran her fingers on the faint marks on his back, "They're almost gone, Stiles."

He tensed and heaved a sigh, letting his shirt fall back down. "I'm running out of time."

Georgie let out her own sigh and pulled one of his arms around her so she could wrap hers around his waist, "Stiles, it's going to be okay. We're going to figure this out and we're going to save you."

There was a moment of silence between them, Stiles rubbing his thumb on her shoulder and laying his head on top of hers before Georgie was able to broach a different subject. "I love you, Stiles."

He looked startled at the admission, but she didn't know why. He had said as much to her before. But he gave her the most awestruck look she'd seen and leaned in to press his lips to hers. The minute they made contact, Georgie could feel relief wash over her body. He slanted his face over hers, holding her jaw in his hand. His other hand was trailing down her side until she slightly pulled away and whispered, her eyes closed, "And I want to love you as much as I possibly can while you're still you."

With that said, and not verbally explained, Georgie reached down and pulled up the hem of her shirt before tossing it on the ground. She almost giggled when she saw him gulp at the sight of her in a dark red bra.

Stiles gaped at her, a soft look in his eyes, "Are yous sure? Now?"

She nodded instantly, "I want you." Before allowing him time to talk himself out of this, she leaned forward and kissed him again.

She felt butterflies erupt in her stomach when he leaned forward, adjusting their bodies so she was laying on her back with him pressing lightly on top of her. Her hand that wasn't pinned to the couch was grasped in one of his, their fingers intertwining. He pushed their joined hands up above her head and used his arm to lightly hold her down. To some, the action would have seemed overbearing but the domination only served to comfort her and make her feel closer to him.

He had only let go of her and lifted himself up to undress himself, stripping off his shirt and pulling off his sweats. In the same swoop of movement, he had undressed her from the hips down. She blushed – this was only the second time he had seen her completely bare. When she'd gotten into the habit of sleeping over at his place, he had seen her in various states of undress. But before that night, the most naked he had seen her was her in her underwear.

He pressed himself over her again, grabbing both of her hands and pulling them over her head this time. His lips slanted over hers until they drifted off and down her neck, peppering kisses on the soft skin. She couldn't help but let out a moan at the attention, and she felt something soft and hard poking into her thigh.

She gasped as he brushed over her, "Stiles... please – I want you."

She heard his sharp intake of breath and then felt him push into her in a smooth movement. She figured she would never get used to this feeling as she gasped from the intrusion. To her, it was indescribable, and nothing felt better than feeling wholly connected to him in every way.

His face was buried in her neck, and she could feel his eyelashes and lips on her skin as he panted and she moaned while he pulled himself out of her just to push himself back in. The movement kept stealing her breath away, sending tingling shots of fire up her spine.

She heard him roughly whisper in her ear, "God, I love you."

She could feel herself getting closer to something that ultimately seemed unattainable, and with his weight on her and that feeling rising in her, she couldn't find the time or breath to say anything in response. Instead, she let her feeling consume her and let herself explode around him. She also felt him groan and stutter above her and then something warm filling up the pit of her stomach.

Slowly, he stopped moving and just laid above her, his lip moving across her face until they got back to her lips, "I love you so much."

After they redressed, Stiles held Georgie close to him on the couch. For a small moment, it all felt perfect to them, and they didn't want to let it go. But in reality, Georgie heard some sort of knocking, calling her attention to the symbol scratched into the wall, "Did you hear that?"

Stiles' face was inquisitive. They both stood up and walked over to the wall, hearing the noise again. Stiles looked around until he found a large metal rod. Taking a deep breath, he lifted it, swinging it towards the stone and striking it. The loud noise made Georgie cover her ears as Stiles swung again and again until there was a gaping hole in the wall.

Georgie gasped more from the smell than the sight when she saw a body in the hiding spot. It looked like a man, wearing brown pants and a leather jacket. If he had a face, it was covered up in dirty gauze.

"This is him," Stiles panted.

"The Nogitsune?" Georgie asked him. "This is what he looks like to you? Is he someone important?"

She knelt forward, half in the hole, and patted the body. She found a breast pocket in the leather jacket and pulled out a faded old photo. It looked like it was from the 1940s or 50s, and narrowed her eyes at the people in the photo. Who she saw stole her breath again, "Stiles, you need to see this."

She handed the photo to him and heard his gasp behind her and knew he saw it to. A girl in the photo looked exactly like the new girl, Kira.

"I have to get this to Scott," Stiles was saying before she heard some buzzing and Stiles grunt before he fell over.

She turned and saw the boy that found Stiles in the hall earlier – Oliver – standing there with a stun gun. He was staring at Stiles with some kind of dazed expression, "You took Brunski's keys. I took his stun gun." He then turned it on her, stabbing it into her stomach. The pain was excruciating and immobilizing. She felt her body twitch and fall to the ground and she couldn't move. Oliver knelt in front of her, brandishing a a syringe. "I also got his Haldol." Before she could do anything, he plunged the needle into her leg and she felt blackness surround her.

* * *

Stiles blinked his eyes open, his vision blurring still as he heard Oliver's voice say to him, "I borrowed a few pointers from the five point restraint."

Stiles looked down to see his wrists and ankles bound to a chair, and he saw Georgie still knocked out and restrained in the same fashion. "Oliver, stop this."

Oliver coughed violently, but didn't say anything, holding up one of the drill designed to drill holes into patient's brains. It whirred the life, a sound that echoed in the basement and struck fear in Stiles' heart. As the drill got closer to him, he stammered for Oliver to stop, "Oliver, listen to me. Stop! Oliver!"

"Start with her," a graveling groan made Oliver pause.

As Oliver turned his back on Stiles and walked towards Georgie, the restrained boy catching sight of his worst nightmare – the Nogitsune. Stiles stared accusingly, whispering with as much venom as he could muster in his weakened state, "You did this. You got into his head."

"Every Dracula needs a Renfield."

"Just let her go," Stiles spat at him, his eyes trained on Georgie as Oliver got closer to her with the whirring drill. Her face was peaceful with ignorance of sleep and what was putting her in danger.

"Let me in," the Nogitsune growled.

Stiles started violently pulling against his restraints, desperately trying to get free. But it was no use.

"Stiles – do you want her to leave here alive? Do you want us to leave? We can walk out of this place."

"Just let her go please," Stiles whispered, his voice drawn down and futile. He began to sob under the Nogitsune's onslaught and the image of Georgie about to be killed by Oliver and a drill because of him.

"Let me in, Stiles! Let me in!"

Stiles pulled harder and harder against his cuffs, shouting out, "Just let her go please!"

"Let me in, Stiles!" the gauze wrapped trickster repeated. "Let me in! Let me in and I'll let her live. Let me in!"

Stiles whimpered, feeling like his head and body were being split in half as he fell limply in his chair.

Oliver had almost start poking the drill into Georgie's temple when he heard a deep voice stop him, "Oliver." The boy abruptly shut off the drill and looked behind him to see Stiles – but he was different, twisted and odd. He broke out of his restraints and swiftly stood to walk over to the boy.

He stared at Oliver until he quickly grabbed the drill and used it to smash into Oliver's skull and knock the boy out. Satisfied with his work, he turned to leave.

Georgie groaned as her vision and consciousness came back to her. She vaguely saw Stiles standing with his back to her. "Stiles?" she called out to him but he didn't answer, and she saw him walking away before she could say anything else.

* * *

"There isn't much here, unfortunately," Deaton told Scott and Jessie, peering at the scroll they had fought for.

"Does it say anything?" Scott asked, desperately wanting good news.

"My Japanese isn't great," Deaton warned before continuing. "But it appears to say that one method of expelling a Nogitsune is to change the body of the host."

"Change the body?" Jessie echoed.

"Which begs the question, how do we change Stiles' body?" Deaton posed for them.

"By turning him into something else," Jessie realized out loud.

"Like a werewolf," Scott breathed, "or a vampire."


	15. Trick

Jessie's arms wound tightly around Scott's middle as he took them to her and Connor's loft on his bike, later in the night. Scott hoped she couldn't hear his heart pounding in his chest. He pulled into a parking spot next to Jessie's car and pulled off his helmet, "Are you okay?"

Jessie pulled off her own helmet and swung herself off of the bike, shrugging, "Sure – we got the scroll."

"That's not what I meant," he corrected himself, getting off the bike and facing her. "You were going to kill Kincaid."

"So, what?" Jessie responded, apathetic to the whole situation.

Scott gaped at her incredulously, "So—that's not you, Jessie."

She rolled her eyes, "Well,  _I'm_  not me." She turned and headed into the building, Scott on her heels. He followed her to the large elevator and once they were inside, he continued the conversation.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm different too," it was Jessie's voice, but not the real Jessie next to him. She was leaning against the elevator wall as they got pulled up, arms crossed in front of her.

Scott's head whipped over to see the other Jessie, the old Jessie, the one he'd been hallucinating about. She was dressed in a random outfit, nothing that he remembered as meaningful. But he could just tell it wasn't the real Jessie, even if the real Jessie wasn't next to him.

His movement of surprise caught the real Jessie's attention, "What was that?"

"Go ahead, Scott. Tell her," fake Jessie goaded him. "Tell her everything."

He shook his head, shutting his eyes tightly, "No."

"What?" the real Jessie asked from behind him. The bell above them dinged as they reached her floor and she stepped out. But Scott was still staring into nothing. She slapped her hand on the door to keep it from closing, "Scott?"

He seemed to shake himself out of some kind of trance, "It's nothing," and stepped back onto the floor.

"That didn't look like nothing," she argued with him as she lead him to her front door. She let them in with her key and looked around, seeing that Connor wasn't home. She rounded on Scott as soon as he closed the door, "Tell me what's different with you and I'll tell you what's different with me."

Scott sighed, dragging one of his hands down his face in frustration. Fake Jessie appeared again at his side, grinning, her hand brushing his arm in a caress. "Tell her the truth, Scott. Tell her what she means to you."

Real Jessie was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, "Well?"

"What we did, me, Stiles and Allison," he began. "Deaton warned us about the side effects."

"The darkness," Jessie guessed. "That's what made Stiles open to the Nogitsune."

"Well it affected all of us," Scott told her. "Allison's been haunted by visions of Kate and so shaky she can't shoot straight. I don't have full control anymore."

Jessie regarded him thoughtfully, "That's not all, Scott. What happened in the elevator? Just now."

Scott didn't want to tell her. He knew that if he told her about the hallucination then he'd have to tell her about his feelings. He wasn't ready to do that. Especially since she wasn't the same girl he'd lost so many months ago.

"Scott, tell me," she repeated sternly.

"Fine," he grounded out. "I've been seeing things too. Hallucinations and it's always the same person. This person... tells me I won't stop seeing them until I forgive myself and own up to some truths."

Jessie stared at him blankly, wholly unimpressed, "That was the vaguest explanation I've ever heard. Who have you been seeing?"

He took a breath before speaking in the most even tone of voice he could manage, "You. I see you."

Her brow rose up, "Me? What do you see?"

Scott shrugged this time, feigning nonchalance, "Just different versions of you from our past. You talk to me. About what I need to accept and fess up to to stop seeing you."

"And what is that?" Jessie asked. "What did you need to accept?"

Fidgeting in a way Stiles would be wary of, Scott told her the second thing that had been weighing on his mind since what happened to her. "It's my fault you almost died. That you  _did_  die, even for a little while."

The worst thing about finally saying it out loud to the person he was scared of the most – was that it didn't seem to affect her the way it should have. The real Jessie, the Jessie that left, would have immediately softened and reassured him.

But this one seemed unperturbed, "That's it? Scott, none of that was your fault. I made my own decisions and so did... so did Jennifer." The way she'd seemed to pause on the name was the only way she seemed truly affected. Scott wanted to jump on that, but knew that it wasn't the right time. "You shouldn't blame yourself, Scott. Everyone looks up to you, I definitely did. We all would lay down our lives for each other, including you. So, you cannot take responsibility for me actually doing it. I don't even regret it."

Scott looked at her, listening to her heartbeat. She wasn't lying, he knew that. And he knew he had to accept that. "I know that—now. But I can't forgive myself until you do-"

He didn't get the full syllable out before her arms were around his neck, "I never had to forgive you, Scott. Because I never blamed you. You remember what I told you when I was on that table?"

" _I knew exactly what I was doing, Scott. And I don't regret a thing. I don't."_

He nodded, "I remember. But-"

"Not buts, Scott," she cut him off, pulling away but staying close. "That's not all, though, right? You said that vision me said you needed to forgive yourself and fess up to something. There's something else you need to tell me?"

Scott didn't know what it was – her being so close to him, after keeping the secret this long, finally having admitted his feelings to himself. Fake Jessie goading him into coming out with the truth every time he saw her. But he suddenly couldn't take it anymore, leaning forward and almost violently smashing his lips onto hers, teeth clashing. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her closer and he could feel her tense up.

He pulled away roughly but kept his hands on her, "I love you, okay? That's what I needed to admit to you. I don't know for how long, but I've been in love with you. And I've needed to know how you felt, this whole time."

Jessie stared at him for a long time, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. Then finally she spoke, "I'm sorry Scott, but I don't feel anything." And it broke Scott's heart. He could almost feel it breaking in his chest – or crushing, since it was a muscle. He tried to hide it from her, but he knew it was written on his face.

Jessie sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Not that I never did. I remember,  _something_  here before I died." She lifted her hands to gesture between them, and he felt a little hope in his chest.

She stepped away from him, so his hands fell from her hips, but she was still within reach. "You know I'm different now. When I was turned, I lost control, I didn't know what to do. That's why Alex took me away, he knew I wouldn't have the control I needed so he took me to someone who could help. I didn't have anyone to guide me who actually knew about this." She wrung her hands together, licking her lips, "I have an Aunt, from the Duster line, she helped Alex and I learn about this thing she'd heard vampires could do. They could block their emotions."

Scott was more than confused now, "What did you do, Jesse?"

Some emotion flashed across her face but it was gone before he could identify it, "I tried for weeks to find an anchor, to get control on my new powers. But nothing worked until Sienna – my Aunt – told me about the switch. I just shut off my emotions. My abilities are tied to my emotions, I'm not even at full strength. It's like how anger makes you change, but it was what kept Derek human. My emotions made me dangerous and useless, so I had to shut them down, or else I couldn't come back and help you guys."

Scott couldn't hide his own emotions, confusion, hurt, "So... all this time—what? You've just been faking it?"

She shook her head, "Not really. I still feel, but just a fraction of what I would feel. Everything else has just been guess work. I know myself, who I used to be. So, I've been acting according to what I know I would feel is right. Putting you guys as a priority. Keeping myself in control in the meantime."

Scott looked at her in disbelief, "But you're not in control. Your eyes are still always glowing. You have no anchor."

Jessie just nodded, "I know all of that."

"Then why don't you find one?" he asked her, stepping closer in front of her. He was careful not to touch, or else it might pressure her too much. "It doesn't have to be Isaac. It doesn't even have to be me. But you can't live your life, half of who you were."

"I always planned on letting my emotions back out at the right time," she told him carefully. "But I had to come back early."

"Why?"

"I knew you guy needed me," she revealed. "I heard Lydia's scream – the call of a banshee."

_Stiles spoke from behind Lydia in the street, "Lydia, scream."_

_Lydia sucked in a breath and let out a shrill scream that echoed supernaturally off the night air, being heard beyond the scope of Beacon Hills._

"I heard it all the way in Portland and knew that I had to come back," Jessie explained. "But I haven't had enough time to get the control I need before I can turn my full emotions back on."

"How do you know?"

"Because I do!" she had barely raised her voice as the door opened and Connor walked in.

The older man looked between Scott and Jessie, sensing something was going on, "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Jessie answered promptly, putting her dark sunglasses on and walking out of the loft. The door almost broke off its hinges from the force of it slamming against the wall.

"What happened?" Connor asked Scott, his thick accent ever present.

"She told me about shutting off her emotions," Scott summed up for him. "She refuses to turn them back on."

Connor shrugged, walking into the open kitchen and grabbing a beer, "No surprise there."

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked him, taking a seat at the counter. "What happened to her back in Portland?"

"It's not just that that's made her the way she is right now," he revealed. "It's a culmination of things throughout the years. I mean, think about it – she moves into town and finds out her whole origin is one big conspiracy and her own destiny isn't in her hands anymore because of her blood right. Then she fights for her and her friend's lives over and over again just to be killed by that bitch Jennifer. Then in an effort to live, she had to turn into something she was never prepared for. And then she watches one of her closest friends – a boy who loved her – die in an effort to protect her."

"Alex?" Scott guessed. "Allison and Lydia told us that he died but we don't know what happened to him, really."

Connor shrugged, "Neither do we, mate. No one else was with her and Alex when it happened. We got separated in the woods, then we hear Jessie screaming her head off and find Alex bleeding out on the dirt. After that, Jessie wouldn't talk about it. All her emotions had come rushing back, even after she shut them off the first time around."

"Wait, they came back before?" Scott asked.

"She shut them off soon after completing the turn," Connor told him. "Then watching Alex die made them all come back and she couldn't handle it. She had nightmares, wouldn't leave her room for days. Then when Nick, her cousin, and Sienna, her aunt, tried to talk to her about it – she didn't remember a thing. And she shut her emotions off again."

"What can we do?"

Connor took a big swig of his beer, "What anyone does for a loved one suffering from PTSD. Support them."

* * *

It took all night, and a bit of magic, but Georgie was able to call out to the only other supernatural creature in the asylum that she thought she could trust – Malia. The Werecoyote found her bound in the basement, "What the Hell happened to you?"

Georgie groaned, "Don't ask – just please get me out of these things. I need to find Scott and warn him what's coming."

"I don't exactly have control," Malia warned, eyeing her bound wrists warily.

"That's okay," Georgie breathed. "Get me out of here and I can take you to someone who can teach you."

Malia nodded, looking genuinely excited for a moment, before reaching down and ripping the binds to shreds, "Let's get out of here."

It took time to get Malia dressed in real people clothes and professionally signed out of the insane hospital, but they got it done and Georgie and Malia were walking out towards the gates. The Werecoyote paused, "I just realized – I don't have anywhere to go. I don't want to go back and face my dad just yet."

"You can come to my house," Georgie offered readily. "My sister won't mind, and I should really clean up for school so I can tell Scott what's going on."

The girls made their way to Georgie's car and sped off for her house. Georgie stared ahead on the road, "When we get there, just let me do the talking for a bit. My sister is gonna be out of her mind worried about me because I didn't think about telling her before I raced into Eichen House after Stiles. She might be mad at first, but I can get her around."

"Okay," Malia easily agreed.

When she drove up in front of her house, she expected to see her sister march out the door and confront her, but the house stayed still. Georgie shut off the car and led Malia right inside, only to lose her breath at the sight of her house. Warped green vines crawled up every surface, breaking up through the wooden floors. They covered the kitchen counters, the walls, up the banister.

Georgie gasped, her hand covering her mouth, "Oh my god. Sonia! Sonia!" She called out for her sister but got no reply. She started flying through the house, checking the living room, kitchen, bathrooms. She found nothing but broken plaster walls and vines that have nearly destroyed her home.

"Georgie!" she heard Malia's voice from upstairs. "You should see this!"

Georgie sprinted up the steps, as carefully as she could to avoid tripping on vines. She found Malia in her own bedroom, staring at the wall. She looked and gaped at what Malia was talking about. The vines on the wall took over all the white, but they spelled out a message.

'COUNSIL TOOK ME. GET DEATON.'

"Oh my god," Georgie whispered in horror. "They took my sister."

* * *

The next morning – Friday – Scott was surprised to see a sobbing Georgie at his front door holding an old looking sword and book bag. Scott hurriedly ushered her inside and took her shoulders into his hands, "Georgie – what's wrong? Is it Stiles?"

She took a deep breath, "The Nogitsune got him, Scott. And that's not even all of it."

"What? What else?" He asked her, leading her to sit down in the living room.

She sat heavily tossing the sword and a piece of paper – or photo – on the couch next to her, "I went home first, with Malia. The house is wrecked, Scott. There were vines and plants everywhere, it's unlivable. And Sonia is gone!"

"Gone?" Scott repeated dubiously. "What do you mean?"

"She left a message," Georgie sniffed. "The council took her. I need Deaton's help."

"What council?" they heard Jessie's voice behind them, startling both the Alpha and the crying witch. The girl walked over and sat next to Georgie, using a hand to rub her back soothingly. The image almost startled Scott again. Last night she had told him she didn't have emotions. And now, she was comforting Georgie like that conversation never happened. "Tell me, Georgie – who are they?"

"Witches – elementals," Georgie breathed out, the sounds coming out shaky. "We have laws. Mostly to keep what we are a secret, from everyone but our children and spouses. And even then, we need the council's permission. But I broke our laws – our most sacred laws. I exposed my magic in front of outsiders, even telling you about the council now is punishable to the highest degree."

"So, they want to kill you," Jessie guessed. "Why take Sonia then?"

"They can hold her responsible for my actions since I'm a child in their eyes," Georgie explained. "They probably went to my house, looking for me – to take me, and punish me – but I wasn't there. So, they took Sonia instead."

"Well, do you have any idea where they're keeping her?" Scott asked, his mind grappling for what they could do.

"I've never even met another witch, let alone a member of the council," Georgie replied helplessly. "But Sonia told me to get Deaton's help. He must know how to find her. So, I need to go to him." She was standing up and heading for the door.

"I'll come with," Scott offered, walking behind her.

But she turned around and shook her head, "No, Scott, you need to see something. That photo I left on the couch."

Jessie picked up the photo and peered at it, seeing a young man in an old soldier's uniform looking down at an Asian girl – one that looked exactly like Kira. "She's right, Scott. You should look at this."

* * *

"This looks just like me," Kira murmured in awe, staring at the photo Scott and Jessie had just handed to her. "This has to be my grandmother."

"Georgie said she and Stiles found it in the basement at Eichen House," Scott told her. "Along with a body buried in the wall with this," he held out the sheathed sword to her. "The same backwards five that the Oni put on us was on the wall."

"This all goes back to your family," Jessie spoke, arms crossed. "Your grandmother, your mom."

There was a knock at Scott's door, causing the others to share looks. They hadn't been expecting anyone else. Scott walked over to the door and opened it, revealing the new girl, Nuala. "I want to help."

"You're the girl who had the weapon at the rave," Scott recognized her. "Are you a hunter?"

"Sort of," she shrugged.

"What does that mean?" Kira asked, wide eyed.

"It means I'm not from an old hunting family like the Argents," Nuala explained. "My parents were first generation, I'm second. And I tend to work alone – with my sister of course. We're solitary. But this, this is all different. It's not a one hunter job. I want to help you guys."

Kira's phone buzzed in hr pocket and they saw her face dropped when she read it.

Scott asked her, "What is it?"

"It's my dad."

* * *

They had rushed to the school as per Kira's mom's instructions to see Noshiko bent over a coughing Mr. Yukimura. Noshiko looked up at them and asked urgently, "Kira, did you bring it?"

Kira dropped to her knees and handed over a brown pouch, "You going to tell me what it is?"

"Reishi."

"You're not seriously giving Dad magic mushrooms?"

She didn't answer, instead shoving the mushrooms into her husband's mouth. He let her, but hacked violently into a handkerchief until some black slimy goo came out.

"Are you okay?" Kira asked her father and Noshiko and she helped him stand up.

"Stiles did this?" Scott guessed, eyeing the man with concern and a touch of guilt.

"He wanted the last kaiken," Noshiko told them, brandishing a black blade from her shirt. "I've kept this near me ever since your friend disappeared."

Jessie stood a bit protectively by Scott's side. "I think it's time you start telling us what you know. Now."

"I'd like to know what actually started all of this myself," Nuala added on.

Kira pulled out the photo from her pocket and handed it to her mother.

Noshiko's face went pail at the sight of the photo, it was as if she'd seen a ghost. "Where did you get this?"

"This is Grandma, isn't it?" Kira asked her back instead.

"No," Noshiko spoke in a clearer tone. "It's me."

"If that's you, then you'd have to be like 90 years old," Scott pointed out, eyes wide with shock at the woman's revelation.

"Closer to 900."

Kira seemed to be taking this all in stride, "Okay, sure. Why not? Dad, how old are you?"

The man smirked at his daughter, "43. But I've been told I look mid-30s."

Jessie stiffly handed the sword over to Noshiko, who took it, holding it out over the desk. She quickly pulled out the handle. Metal shards clattered onto the wood. "The blade was shattered the last time it was used."

"When was that?" Kira asked.

"1943, against the Nogitsune."

"So... all of this," Nuala waved her hand towards Noshiko and the shards. "It's all happened before."

Noshiko nodded, shameful, "Yes."

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," Mr. Yukimara stated wisely.

"Where did it come from?" Kira asked her father.

"It was an internment camp during World War II," Noshiko revealed. "In Oak Creek. Not too far from here."

Scott looked to the History Teacher, "Hold on. You told Allison that there was no internment camp at Oak Creek."

He looked sheepish but not exactly embarrassed, "Allison's family has a certain history of violence. I didn't know if she could be trusted. There was a camp, yes. But all the records were erased."

"They covered it up," Noshiko added scornfully, her voice hard.

Her husband pulled out a file, showing them photos of an internment camp and people kept in it, "When I was a grad student, my passion project – actually more like an obsession – was trying to dig up the truth on Oak Creek. It's how I met your mother, Kira."

"So, where did the Nogitsune come from?" Jessie asked, staring accusatory at Noshiko.

The woman stared back, the corners of her lips turned down, "Me."

* * *

"Deaton!" Georgie called out as she ran into the clinic. "Deaton, I need your help!"

The vet rushed to the front, opening up the gate, thinking some other supernaturals would be around. When he saw her alone, he relaxed,but only marginally. "What is it?"

"They took Sonia," Georgie pushed out of her lungs in one breath. "The council. The house is trashed and she left a message for me with her power saying the council took her and to get you to help."

"Do you know where the council operates?" Deaton asked her quickly, worried about his friend.

Georgie shrugged hopelessly, "I've never seen a member. And Sonia never told me about the world we left behind. Just the rules and the consequences."

Deaton nodded, looking off in thought, "Alright. Georgie, I need you to stay away from that house. There's no telling if the council will come back for you. You can't stay with me either, that would be too obvious. I need you to stay safe and out of the way while I handle this."

"I can't just do nothing, Deaton," Georgie argued. "She's my sister!"

"I know," Deaton assured her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know. But if you go looking for her and get caught, your punishment will be worse for meddling in the council's dealings of her. It's better if I work on this – that's why Sonia left that message to get me. Just – focus on Stiles. I'll let you know when I have a full plan."

* * *

Noshiko pulled a reluctant Kira over to the desk, using another hand to move the pieces of the sword around in order, "Kira, I need your help on this. There isn't much time. And this is something that needs to be done in the daylight."

Kira hesitated, looking over to Scott, Jessie, and Nuala. Under Jessie encouraging shake of her head, Kira looked down and crossed her arms, shaking her own head, "No. Not until you tell us everything."

Noshiko looked warily towards Scott, Jessie and Nuala but her husband spoke first, "Tell them, Noshiko. Tell them what they need to know."

Her face morphed into a disapproving glare, "Wolves and foxes tend not to get along. Not just in fables and stories."

Kira looked to Scott and blushed. But Jessie wasn't amused, and she was growing more and more impatient. She slipped off her sunglasses, revealing her bright blue glowing eyes, "And what do your fables say about vampires?" Noshiko and her husband eyed Jessie as the girl leaned her hands, nails into the wood, on the desk. "I'm getting a bit sick of you casting aspersions on our characters when you're the one who has been holding out on us while we're trying to save our friend. Talk. Now."

* * *

Derek and Chris were being released, but Chris was having an argument with Deputy Parish over some of his belongings when the Sheriff intercepted them and brought them into his office. He slapped some brain scans on his desk and regarded the men with fear – not of them or even for them, but for his son – "The specialist I saw in L.A told me the thing that every doctor says when he's trying to avoid a lawsuit. 'We can't say for sure.'" He stared at the scans and sighed, "And then I spoke to Melissa. These are brain scans. My wife's," he pointed to one. Then jammed his finger in the other, "And Stiles'. I knew they were similar." He picked them up and slipped one over the other, the images lined up perfectly. "But those are the same. Exactly the same."

"And I'm guessing this isn't possible?" Derek suggested.

"Not even remotely," Stilinski emphasized.

"So, the trickster is still playing tricks," Chris realized.

"But why this trick?" Derek asked, confused.

The Sheriff looked down at the scans, forlorn, "When I was in the Army, an officer told me, 'if you want to defeat your enemy, you don't take away their courage. You take away their hope.'"

"You don't look like a man who gives up hope easily," Derek commented.

The Sheriff shook his head in agreement, "But Stiles might. If this thing's inside him, if it's using his mother's disease as some sort of psychological trick, then this isn't just a fight for his body. It's a fight for his mind. Right?"

Chris nodded gravely, "You know, he's left people severely injured."

Derek and the hunter shared a look as the werewolf stated, "And others severely dead."

"That's why I need the two of you," Stilinski looked between them. "I need people who are experienced in this kind of thing. I need you to help me stop him."

"And by stop him, you mean trap him," Chris knew.

"Mr. Stilinski?" all three men turned to the open office door to see a timid Georgie standing in the hallway.

"Georgie," Stilinski started to greet but stopped short when he saw how red her eyes were. "What's wrong?"

* * *

Noshiko's long tales of her stealing supplies from trucks and sneaking kisses from her soldier boyfriend did nothing for Nuala let out her hunter temper and snapped, "Shut up and move on."

The woman eyed the teenage girl with surprise, "Excuse me?"

"She's right mom," Kira intervened. "We don't want to hear your Casablanca story. We wanna know how to save Stiles."

"I'm trying to tell you," Noshiko insisted.

"You're trying to stall," Scott called her out, sort of impressing Jessie next to him. "When the sun goes down, the Oni are gonna come after him again, aren't they?"

"Your friend's gone, Scott," Noshiko tried to explain.

"You don't know that," Jessie argued. "You're the one who brought the Oni in on this mess and made things more complicated. Distracted them from what was really going on. If they didn't come and target all of us then maybe they would have known something was wrong with Stiles earlier and been able to keep him in sight so the Nogitsune couldn't do anything."

"Can you call them off?" Scott asked, more diplomatically. "It's not Stiles' fault."

"Stiles may be your best friend," Noshiko stated. "He might be like a brother to you. But he is Nogitsune now. He is void."

"I get it now," Jessie suddenly realized something, and Scott didn't like the half grin on her face. "Your little lover boy was the Nogitsune the first time around. What did you do to him, Noshiko?"

* * *

The Sheriff's question nearly sent Georgie off into tears again, "Everything is going wrong. The Nogitsune has Stiles. My sister is missing. The house is trashed – I can't stay there. I have nowhere to go."

When she started to hiccup the Sheriff stepped forward and hugged her close like a father would. It was an unknown sensation because Georgie had never known her father – or her mother. She had always just had Sonia. And now Sonia was gone.

"You'll stay with me, alright?" The Sheriff more told her than offered her.

She nodded into his chest and then pulled away, wiping under her eyes. "Deaton told me to leave Sonia to him. But I need to do something – I need to save Stiles. I can't lose him too."

"That's what we want too," Derek assured her. "So, let's go."

All of them headed to the Argent apartment, Allison greeted them, leading them to the den, "This is everything non-lethal I could find."

"Take all of it," Chris instructed.

Allison handed Georgie a large dagger and gave her a few pointers, then gave her a taser gun and holsters for both. "Just in case anything else sneaks up on us. We can't count on the Oni going away."

Georgie nodded, "But I'm not a fighter. I'm not even a powerful witch."

"That doesn't matter," Allison reassured her. "You and Scott are the most important people to Stiles – that will help us bring him back. Give him a reason to fight the Nogitsune."

"Our best shot right now is for Derek to try to pick up Stiles' scent at Eichen House," Chris was telling the Sheriff. "Especially if he went through something stressful there."

"We definitely did," Georgie piped up, looking down.

"Should all four of us be going to the same place?" The Sheriff asked.

"Where else has Stiles been showing up?" Chris asked, looking at the girls.

"School, the hospital," Allison answered. "The woods?"

Georgie ran a hand through her dark hair, sighing out in frustration, "But we can't just cover all of Beacon Hills looking for him. That's exactly what we've been doing and it ends up being exactly what the Nogitsune wants."

"He's getting us to repeat the same moves," Derek realized.

"So, what do we do?" Allison asked them. "Wait for him to come to us?"

"We can't just wait around," Georgie argued. "The Oni will come for him the minute the sun goes down."

"Scott's working on them right now with Kira and Jessie," Allison informed her.

"We can't wait," Georgie insisted. "We need to do something."

"That's the problem," Chris voiced. "We're all trying to outfox the fox."

They were quiet, looking at the weapons and each other. The Sheriff walked next to Georgie and put an arm around her shoulder, looking around at the others, "Listen, I'll understand if anyone wants to back out."

Georgie immediately shook her head as Derek answered out loud, "I'm not going to be the first wolf to run from a fox."

"Apparently I'm carrying a lightsaber," Chris said, holding up one of his electric staffs.

"Dad, you and Derek hit Eichen House," Allison started taking over. "Sheriff, you, me and Georgie will go to the hospital. We'll all meet at the school." With that said, they dispersed into their groups and left.

* * *

"Rhys and I found ways to see each other," Noshiko illustrated for the teenagers. "Sometimes at the barracks. Sometimes in the bunkers where they parked military vehicles. He was being transferred to North Africa in a few weeks and I was teaching him some French. We watched Merrick and Hayes talking with the camp doctor. They were whispering, talking quickly."

"Noshiko," Mr. Yukimura cut off his wife when he saw her bleeding hand from handling a broken piece of the blade. She snapped out of her trance and dropped the sword shard, accepting the handkerchief her husband handed her.

Kira looked concerned but that turned to confusion when her mother wiped away the blood and revealed no wound. "How did you do that?"

"It's one of our talents," Noshiko smiled sardonically. "Something you'll learn, Kira. You should've noticed by now that you never get sick. Ever. You'll never experience something as simple as a common cold. Something as bad as the flu. Or something like... pneumonia."

She looked away in deep thought, "It was spreading throughout the camp, killing people. There was never enough medicine to keep up. Rhys checked his log. But we already knew what was happening. Dr. Liston was using Merrick and Hayes to sell medicine on the black market."

"What did you do?" Scott asked.

"I told my people," Noshiko frowned. "I had realized the mistake I had made by speaking too soon. I wasn't helping anyone. I was inciting a riot. They surrounded the car with the doctor inside. I yelled for them to stop. But so many people were sick. And so many were dying. I'd never seen anger like that. It was a living, breathing thing. Rhys tried to keep everyone calm, he tried to stop anyone from getting hurt. But Merrick wouldn't listen, he came out with a gun. Satomi was there, right in front of him, and everyone was quiet. Until he took the butt of his gun and smashed it into her head."

"What was special about Satomi?" Kira asked.

"I saw her change," Noshiko answered. "Now, I knew why Satomi was always trying to keep quiet. Why she got migraines once a month, and why she was always at the game of Go. It kept her calm."

"She was bitten," Scott guessed.

Noshiko gave him a hard look, "Bitten werewolves have a harder time suppressing their anger. One unexpected flare-up and they could lose all control."

Jessie snarled at the woman, side stepping in front of Scott to put her body between his and the Yukimara family, "I'm starting to lose control so get on with it."

Nuala regarded them all nervously, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

* * *

The Sheriff, Allison and Georgie had just made it into the hospital's elevator when the man's phone went off.

"What is that?" Georgie asked him.

"Someone's breaking into my house," he answered, pulling out his phone. "Motion sensors. Cameras." He clicked open an app and pulled up some footage. The girls peered at the screen, seeing Stiles sitting on his bed, waving at the camera.

"Is that his room?" Allison asked.

"Yes," Georgie breathed, knowing that Stiles was not her Stiles.

* * *

Noshiko's voice got choked up as she carried on, while she and Kira slowly pieced together the shards like a puzzle. She described Satomi throwing a fire bomb at Rhys, and watching him scream for his life as he burned. Then the soldiers of the camp opened fire on the citizens, killing so many of them.

"The gunfire nearly killed me. I don't know how many bullets made their way into my body, but I fought everyone one of them. It left my body so weak, my heartbeat so slow, it appeared as though I was dead. But even then—I was better off than Rhys. His screams could be heard throughout Eichen House, echoing through every room, every hallway. He died in agony. The doctor, it seems, had also sold the morphine."

She fiddled with the metal shards, "Merrick and Hayes were given the task of getting rid of all the bodies, both American and Japanese-American. They were transferring Dr. Liston out as well, stationing him somewhere else. They were covering it up. The doctor, Merrick, Hayes, and all of the others. They were gonna get away with murder." She said it with such anger that Kira could only feel sorry for her mother.

"By chance, I guess, Rhys' body had been put next to mine. I wanted the soldiers and the administration of the camp to be punished for their crime. But I knew the clock was ticking. I was going to lose my chance. They were going to burn me with the others. I couldn't fight back with my body weakened and still healing. I could barely move. I was going to die. With time slipping through my fingers, I knew I was making a terrible decision. But I couldn't die knowing they would get away. So I called out to our ancestors for kitsune-tsuki. Possession by a fox spirit. For a powerful Nogitsune, one that feeds off chaos, strife, and pain, to take control of my weakened body. Imbue it with power and use it as a weapon. But calling on a trickster spirit is a dangerous thing. They can have a very dark sense of humor. Because while the Nogitsune did come to possess someone, it wasn't me."

"What happened?" Scott asked.

"My body was beginning to heal. And I managed to pull myself up from the ground. But it was too late."

"What did the Nogitsune do at Oak Creek?" Jesse elaborated, wanting the woman to just go on with it.

"It brought chaos, strife, and more pain than you can imagine," Noshiko's voice shook. "I had to find him. I had to stop him." The woman eyed the lowering horizon worriedly, facing her daughter, "Kira, hurry. Night is coming."

The teens listened as she told them how she retrieved her blade, hunted Rhys down and teamed with Satomi to kill him with the blade. Only that it shattered. His last words were coup de foudre.

"What do those words mean?" Nuala asked.

"The literal translation is 'a bolt of lighting.'" she informed them. "In French, it can also mean 'love at first sight.' But a bolt of lightning happens to be exactly what we need right now."

"For what?" Kira asked.

"Excising the Nogitsune from Rhys' body shattered the katana. But you can put it back together."

Kira rolled her eyes, "Why don't you just do it yourself?"

"Because I'm not a thunder kitsune," Noshiko told her. "Do you trust me?"

Kira gave her mother a look, "I just found out you're 900 years old. I don't think I'm ever gonna trust you again."

Noshiko looked hurt but only said, "Trust me on this."

Jessie could feel Scott's hand on her hip behind her as they watched Kira hold her hand over the shards. Blue lightning rained down over the shards, and magically, they were drawn together like magnetism until the blade was whole again.

* * *

Derek, Chris, Georgie, Allison and the Sheriff all piled into Stiles' room but he was no longer there. Derek looked down and saw the chess board, with sticky notes with names on them on the game pieces. "What is all this? What are these sticky notes for?"

"This is what Stiles used to try and explain to me about all of you," The Sheriff explained.

Allison studied the board, "Maybe it's a message from Stiles. The real Stiles."

Derek noticed something, "You think there's any reason my name's on the king?"

"Well, you're heavily guarded," Stilinski pointed out. "Though I guess the alarming detail is that you're one move from being in checkmate."

"It's not a message from Stiles," Chris realized. "It's a threat from the Nogitsune."

"He's at the loft," Allison guessed. "That's what he's trying to tell us."

Derek's eyes widened, "Marissa is at the loft." He made to run for the door but Chris grabbed his elbow and Georgie stepped in front of him.

"He won't hurt her," Georgie tried to reason with him. "That's not the purpose of all this."

"Are you crazy?" Derek raised his voice.

"Think about it!" She yelled back at him. "The Nogitsune plays tricks – dark tricks. Killing is just part of the joke, he doesn't actually want to kill anyone."

"If you're trying to convince me that he won't kill her – I'm not too confident about that," he shot at her.

"It won't," Stilinski supported Georgie, standing with her. "It wants irony. It wants to play a trick. It wants a joke. All we need to do is come up with a new punch line."

Chris looked out the window, "The sun is setting, Sheriff. What did you have in mind?"

Georgie held out her hands, "Whatever it is, we're running out of time. I can get us all there a lot faster."

* * *

Noshiko held out the blade to her daughter, "Go ahead. It's yours now."

"What if I don't want it?" Kira asked.

"You need it," Noshiko argued. She tossed the blade over to her and Kira and the girl readily caught it, swinging it around with precision. Noshiko smiled, "You see? It gives you balance. My power is yours now, Kira. If the Oni can't stop Stiles, you have to. The same as I did. And maybe seek out a wolf to help you."

"You didn't tell us anything," Scott disputed.

"You want to save Stiles? Kill him. That's the only way."

Jessie's blood had been boiling the more the woman spoke of killing Stiles as if it were the only way – as if it were no big deal. She slammed her palm against the desk, startling the others, and splintering a dent into the wood, and glared at the woman, "Listen, bitch,  _this_  – this is all your fault. You wasted our time telling us about your war time romance and all the wit and wisdom you have for us is  _kill_  Stiles? You started this. You can spout about the Nemeton and what we did to save everyone, but you're the one who called on that thing to come down and do what it does best. And now you expect us to kill our best friend in order to clean up your mess? Screw you. There's a way to save him, and we're gonna find it. Without your help."

Scott gaped at her back as she stormed out of the room, into the hallway. He called out her name, "Jessie!" catching up to her and pulling her into him. "What's really got you so wound up?"

"I can't lose him too, Scott," Jessie took a deep breath, calming herself down instantly. "If he dies, the dam breaks. I am not ready for everything I haven't been feeling to rush back to me. It'll kill me. I can't lose any of you."

Scott wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, "We're not gonna let that happen."

* * *

Outside the loft, smoke began piling into the hallway until it formed into the Sheriff, Georgie, Allison, Chris and Derek. The Sheriff walked inside first, pulling the door open and seeing Stiles standing by the table with his back to them. Marissa stood by the window, looking scared, with her hands cupped on her stomach.

Derek rushed forward, as Marissa ran to him, and took her in his arms.

Stiles slowly turned around, a sadistic grin on his face, "Hi, Dad."


	16. In Her House

The Sheriff searched his son's face for any sign that Stiles was still in there. But he found none, "You're not my son."

The Nogitsune smirked. After making sure that Marissa was safe and a ways away from Void Stiles, Derek attacked the boy. But with little effort, Void Stiles swung him around into a stone pillar in his loft. Allison took a shot with her taser gun, but Stiles only caught the wires and ripped the weapon from the hunter's hand. Chris lifted his very lethal gun, cocking it with a click.

Everyone froze, and Stiles didn't look at all worried with the gun pointed at his face. The Sheriff looked at the other man, his hands raised in a non-threatening way, "Argent, listen to me. Don't do this."

"Why not?" Chris asked with a snarl in his voice. "I've done it before. Werewolves, berserkers. I can easily add a Nogitsune to the list."

The Sheriff lifted his own gun and pointed it at Chris' head, "You're not going to shoot my son."

"You said it yourself, he's not your son."

"It's still Stiles!" Georgie argued, standing next to the Sheriff. "You can't just kill him. I thought you hunters came up with a new code."

"Put it down," Stilinski warned, but Chris held his gun steady, staring at Stiles.

Stiles put on a scared face, speaking to his father with a tremor in his voice, "Dad, he's going to shoot me. He's going to kill me, Dad."

"Don't listen," Chris cautioned him.

"Put it down," the man repeated, louder. "Now! Do it!"

Stiles' face dropped into his eerie smugness as he looked at Chris and dared, "Pull the trigger. Come on."

"Listen to me," the Sheriff yelled, "you put the gun down now!"

"Shoot me!" Stiles yelled.

"Put it down!" Georgie cried, looking between the Sheriff, her boyfriend and the hunter with the gun. "This isn't right!"

"SHOOT ME!" Stiles shouted.

"NO!" Georgie shrieked, putting her body between Stiles and the others and throwing her hands out. Black smoke shot out of her skin, more permeable than real smoke, and smashed into Chris and the Sheriff, blowing them back and separating them from the weapons as they fell to the floor. Georgie panted from the energy wasted and spoke, "Don't you see? This is exactly what he wants."

Stiles smirked behind her, reaching forward and grabbing her neck, pulling her to his body, "Not exactly, babe. I was kind of hoping Scott would be here. But I'm glad you all had your more lethal options ready." Georgie shivered from his voice in her ear as he walked them behind the Sheriff and the Hunter while the men gathered up their guns again and got on their feet. "You're here to protect me."

They watched as darkness filled the loft, the sun disappearing and the Oni floating into the room through the windows. The readied themselves for a fight.

* * *

Scott, Kira and Jessie all rushed into Derek's loft to see Allison, Stilinski, Georgie, Chris and Derek laid out on the floor with Marissa tending to Derek. Scott looked around, "What happened?"

"They disappeared," Allison told them. "They literally just vanished."

Georgie sat up, her eyes averted to her knees, "And so did Stiles."

* * *

Scott and Jessie walked into his house, into his room. Scott looked back at Jessie with a quick grin, "You didn't have to see me all the way home."

"We don't know what the Nogitsune is up to right now," Jessie responded. "The Oni can't get through the mountain ash but Stiles sure can. You need to stay vigilant tonight. I'll check in on you in the morning."

She went to walk out of the room but Scott spoke up, "You don't have to leave."

She turned around and sighed, "Scott, that's not a good idea."

Scott put on his best innocent face, "What do you mean?"

"You know I can't offer you what you want, Scott," Jessie gently reminded him. "I told you, I remember what I felt before. But I don't  _feel_  now."

"What did you feel before?" he asked instead.

She crossed her arms, cupping her elbows, as if protecting her body, "The Jessie before felt something for you. She loved you as her best friend, Scott. You were the first person she ran to when she needed someone. And all of that was slowly evolving into something else. Deaton talked about a bond with you that would make us both stronger than anything. But she still felt something for Isaac. It was complicated. And now it's nothing."

Scott didn't know how it felt to be brought up to a hopeful place while simultaneously being kicked down to a hopeless place – but it must feel like what he was experiencing at that moment. At least he would think so. "You talk about it like you're not Jessie anymore."

She shrugged, "Am I? Think about it, Scott. Without full emotions, I'm this empty vessel with no real personality."

"You keep saying you don't have any emotions, but I don't think that's true," he told her. "I saw how worked up you got at Kira's mom – over the  _idea_  of losing Stiles. I think you feel more than you let on. And if I can't bring it out to you, maybe your family can."

"What?" she asked sharply. "What are you talking about?"

"Your dad, mom, Bethany," Scott listed. "They're all back in Beacon Hills. Back in your old house. You can go see them."

"No," Jessie whispered. She shook her head, "No, I don't want them to see me like this."

"But, Jessie," Scott started to argued but he was cut off.

"I said no, Scott," Jessie stated in a hard voice, turning around and walking out.

* * *

The house was dark when Stilinski opened the door and let Georgie in first. He disabled the alarm and set it so it knew he was home before turning on the lights. Georgie looked around, a bit uncomfortable, rubbing the chill from her arms. "Thank you for this."

"Hey," the Sheriff called her attention softly, taking her shoulders into his hands, "you're family, Georgie. You can stay as long as you like. Not like you didn't spend most nights here anyway."

She let a small smile crack her face at his attempted joke. It was the thought that counted anyway.

"Go on up to Stiles room and get some sleep."

* * *

Nuala didn't bother with subtly as she let herself into her and Dechtire's house. She knew her sister would be awake and waiting to ream her out. She walked into the kitchen, seeing her sister sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter, "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Exactly what I told you before, I'm helping them," she answered. "I can explain it all to them, get them to trust me. They trusted me enough today. I can help stop what's going on. Now that I know exactly what's going on."

"What do you mean?" Dechtire asked.

Nuala smirked, "I got the history."

* * *

Jessie quietly let herself into the loft, looking around. If Connor was home then he'd be sleeping on the couch but she didn't see him. So, she pulled off her jacket and kicked off her shoes and slumped up the stairs to her own room. When she flipped on the light, she was shocked to see Isaac sitting on her bed.

"Isaac?" she said it mostly to herself, going to stand in front of him. He seemed to be in some sort of trance, staring ahead until his eyes lazily lifted up to look at her. It worried her. "You're out of the hospital?"

"I'm feeling much better," he stated.

"Why'd you come here?" She asked. They were broken up – even before she left – and he lived with Scott. "How'd you even know where I live?"

He shrugged, "It wasn't that hard. I wanted to see you."

"Why?" Jessie asked. "Not that I'm not happy you're okay. But-"

"I miss you," he cut her off, looking up at her in earnest. "I've never not missed you."

"Isaac," Jessie sighed, searching for the words to make him understand that while she still cared for him, they were no longer together for viable reasons that still applied. But how could she say that without hurting him? And even if she didn't care as much as she would have before, she did care. That was something she was trying to hide. "You know I care, but-"

"I know," he interrupted her again, standing up to his full height. He still towered over her. "I know we've both changed. I know we're just too different to still be together like we were, but – that doesn't change the fact that I still miss you. Even with you standing right in front of me."

"I miss you too sometimes," she admitted. And it was true. The part of her she left behind in Beacon Hills when she died, still cared about Isaac. Loved him even. He was her first love, and it was a kind of love that you didn't just forget and move on from. While she stood by her decision to end things between them, it still hurt her.

While she was lost in unemotional thought, Isaac started leaning into her. She jerked her chin to the side, missing his contact, and stepped away from him. "Isaac..." she sighed, "you can't do that."

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"It's not your fault, totally," she said, crossing her arms when she faced him again. "I came back different, okay? I don't feel anything anymore for anyone, let alone the boy that I lo-" she cut herself off when she realized that while she was thinking of a boy she loved, Scott's face flashed through her mind. She pressed her lips together, thinking harder on her words before she spoke again, "I can't access my emotions. I had to do that in order to have control over myself and my new powers."

"I don't understand," he answered her dubiously.

"It's a vampire thing," she said. "You should go back to Scott's."

"What?" he asked slowly, not nearly as offended as he should be. "What are you talking about, Jessie?"

"Get. Out," she said slowly, staring him down until he finally wandered out of the room.

* * *

Isaac looked up at Scott's house, a place he'd been calling home for a long time. He rubbed his hands together in the cold night and then walked in, using his key. Only one light in the house was on, in the living room. He saw Scott standing in the entryway from the kitchen. Allison and Lydia sat on the couch.

"Why'd you call us all over here?" Lydia asked, rubbing her eyes.

"How'd you get out of the hospital?" Allison asked. "You were practically in a coma."

"Well, I woke up," Isaac said. "And I went to see Jessie."

Scott felt his heart stutter at the thought of Jessie and Isaac together again. "What happened?"

"She's different," Isaac said instead. "She says she doesn't feel anything. What is that supposed to mean? What's wrong with her?"

"We're wondering the same thing," Allison agreed.

Scott sighed, "She got rid of her emotions to gain control over her powers."

"She what?" Lydia almost yelled.

"She doesn't feel the full force of her emotions anymore," Scott explained. "And she refuses to let them back out because she can't trust herself. She's like a fraction of the real Jessie we knew before."

Isaac scratched his head in thought, "She's probably trapped the real her in her house."

Lydia scoffed, eyeing him sarcastically, "You think this girl is an impostor and the real Jessie is locked up in her basement?"

Isaac shook his head, "No, we know Jessie has a photogenic memory, right? But the information is hard to access and can get lost or come out of nowhere. So, she created this house in her mind to help organize it all. Each room has a purpose, and when she needs to remember something, all she has to do is go to the right room."

Scott looked at him inquisitively, "And you think her emotions are in one of those rooms?"

"Exactly," Isaac nodded. " And probably locked away. All we have to do is find the key to the room and unlock it."

Scott looked away in thought, "What kind of key?"

"A trigger," Allison guessed.

Scott spoke up, remembering his conversation with Jessie's new roommate, "Connor said she locked away her emotions before, and seeing Alex die in front of her broke them out."

"So, one of us has to die?" Lydia murmured sardonically. "That doesn't really bode well for me."

"Or any of us," Allison agreed. "But we have to find a way to get the real Jessie out somehow."

"Maybe there's a different key," Isaac suggested. "If we can push the right buttons, we can probably force her to let the real her out."

"How do we know what buttons to push without pushing her over the edge?" Scott asked seriously. "I don't want to drive her into running back to Portland."

"If she tries we'll follow her and drag her right back, kicking and screaming," Isaac countered, just as serious.


	17. Into His Mind

Most would have said it was lucky for Jessie to happen to stop by the McCall household just as Aidan and Lydia were showing up with a sliced up Stiles and Deaton in tow. But she could correct them, insisting she had one of her feelings. Aidan and Scott grunted as they moved a limp Stiles to the couch and set him down.

"Guys, this is crazy," Melissa exclaimed behind them with Lydia. "He needs to be in the hospital."

"Mom, remember what happened last time he went to the hospital?" Scott pointed out.

Deaton lifted away the ripped shirt and peered at the long gash in Stile's abdomen, "It doesn't look like he's bleeding. I think he might even be healing."

"You mean healing like we heal?" Aidan asked. "That's good, right?"

"For him, yes," Deaton answered. "Us? I'm not so sure."

"Someone called Georgie, right?" Jessie asked.

Melissa nodded, "Yeah, I did. She said the Sheriff already went into work, so I'm gonna call him now."

She stepped out of the room as Aidan asked, "Well, if we're not going to kill him, why aren't we at least tying him down with really big chains?"

Deaton pulled something out of his jacket pocket, "I might have something more effective." He motioned for Scott and Aidan to hold the unconscious trickster spirit down on the couch and Deaton held a plastic syringe over Stile's mouth, using his own hand to pinch his cheeks together so he could empty the liquid into his mouth.

With a jolt, Stiles' eyes opened and he reached up and clamped his hand around Aidan's throat, choking the werewolf in a vice like grip. Aidan gasped, yelling, "Get him off me! Get him off me!"

The Nogitsune snarled as his grip weakened and Aidan escaped his hold. He chuckled darkly, smirking at Deaton as his hand fell, "Kanima venom. Nice touch."

Aidan let out an angry werewolf roar, but stopped himself from leaping and attacking Stiles right then and there. But the Nogitsune wasn't done playing tricks and clicked his tongue at the wolf, "You know they say that twins get a feeling when the other one's in pain? You didn't lose that talent, too, did you? Oh, I hope not. You're going to need it. Okay, I'll give a little hint. Ethan's at the school."

Aidan's face dropped and Scott quickly goaded him, "Go."

The Nogitsune laughed as Aidan ran off, "Oh, I hope he gets there in time. I like the twins. Short tempers. Homicidal compulsions. They're a lot more fun than you bakemono trying to save the world every day."

"Doc, you brought something to paralyze his body," Melissa spoke with her usual resilient attitude as she re-entered the room. "You got anything for his mouth?"

"Yes, I do," Deaton answered as he pulled out a roll of duct tape. He roughly ripped off and piece and slapped it over his mouth. He laughed beneath the tape and then let out a scream, anger in his eyes.

Deaton, Lydia, Scott and Jessie walked into the kitchen just as the door opened and Georgie rushed in, wide eyed and frantic facial expression. "Where is he? Is he okay?"

"The Nogitsune is on the couch," Jessie explained. "It's not Stiles, Georgie."

Georgie cringed when she saw the ragged shape of her boyfriend crumpled on the couch, and worse when she saw Melissa start treating a big wound on his stomach. "What did he do to himself?"

"We don't know yet," Lydia sighed. "He just showed up like that. Deaton paralyzed him with Kanima venom, so we're good for now."

"For now," Deaton emphasized. "If we don't figure out something soon, we're going to need to find a better place to keep him. I think we're grossly underestimating the danger here. He might be paralyzed, but it still feels like he's got us right in the palm of his hand."

Scott, Jessie and Georgie looked behind them into the living room to see the Nogitsune staring back at them, seeming very pleased with himself.

* * *

Allison balanced her cell phone on her shoulder while she and Kira drove off down the main street in her car, speaking quickly to her father, "I think he went to the school. Kira and I tried to catch up but he had a head start on us."

"I'm on my way," her father quickly answered and then hung up.

Kira stared between her and the windshield, wide eyed and nervous as Allison tossed her phone into her lap, "I texted Nuala. She said she and her sister would meet us at the school." She gulped as they went roughly over a speed bump, "What do you think he wants to do? I mean, he stole all your weapons and chained us to your bed."

"He mentioned the twins, that they don't deserve a second chance," Allison explained quickly. "That means he wants revenge over what happened with the Alpha Pack. They must be at the school, he's gonna try to kill them."

"Oh, boy," Kira gulped.

* * *

"Derek, you all right?" Chris asked as the open door into his hallway revealed a haggard looking – almost ill looking – Derek outside his front door.

"I need to show you something," he muttered, slowly making his way into the apartment and into Chris' den. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of something, fingernails clattering on the desk top as he tossed them onto the surface. "Do you know who these belonged to?"

Chris peered at them, still confused, shaking his head.

"These claws are all that was left of my mother after your psychotic sister burned her and the rest of her family alive," after Derek muttered these words with such scathing loathing, Chris stared him in the eyes and noticed that something was deeply wrong with him. His hand slowly inched for his gun but before he could grab it, Derek struck him with full force.

* * *

Melissa had just finished dressing the wound on Stiles' body, hearing sniffling that made her look up to see Stiles crying and staring at her with such sadness and pain and fear. She softened, "Stiles..." and pulled the tape away from his mouth, thinking it was really him.

But the minute the tape was off his mouth, his expression morphed into a devious smirk of disbelief and disappointment, "Really, Melissa?"

Melissa frowned, internally kicking herself.

"I shed on tear? That's all it takes? Come on. You can't crumble that easily," the Nogitsune mocked her. "How are you going to hold up when Scott knows the truth?"

"What?" she snapped, wondering what he was referring to.

He chuckled, "When he finds out why his dad really left? You know he overheard it, right?" When Melissa's face was still blank he let out a sarcastic grasp, "You had no idea. You called Stilinski right after it happened. You didn't tell Scott, but you told the Sheriff. Hmm. But Stiles heard it like he hears everything. But you want to know why he never told Scott?"

That had been exactly the question Melissa was wondering but she wouldn't dare voice it and give him the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten to her.

The Nogitsune's face changed into a cruel one, "Because he knew that Scott would never forgive you. He knew how much he would hate you."

"This isn't you, Stiles," Melissa cracked.

"It is now," he taunted.

Melissa glared and slapped the tape back over his mouth.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the others were discussing the scroll that supposedly gave them their answer to their problem. Lydia leaned her palms on the counter, "But the scroll said to change his body."

"That's if I translated it correctly," Deaton posited. "We're looking for a cure in something that might actually be nothing more than a proverb or a metaphor."

Lydia gave Scott a look. He frowned, "What if he doesn't want the bite? He's never asked to be a werewolf."

"And a werewolf bite has a fifty-fifty shot of killing the bitten," Jessie pointed out.

"What about the bite of a vampire?" Lydia asked, turning her look to Jessie.

"Would that work?" Georgie asked eagerly.

"No," Jessie quickly dashed her hopes. "Stiles is A positive. I'm O positive."

"Why does that matter?" Lydia asked shrilly.

Jessie sighed impatiently, "Because turning a human into a vampire isn't as easy as a werewolf bite. The sire and the new vampire have to share blood, their blood has to be compatible, the same type. There's a small chance it might work anyway given that I'm full blooded vampire and a bit more powerful, but I'm not gonna open Stiles' arm on a less than ten percent chance. It's less risky to go with the werewolf bite."

"The venom is not going to last long," Deaton cut in. "Something needs to be done sooner than later."

"I can try calling Derek again," Scott said.

"Maybe we should call someone else," Lydia said, sharing a look with Scott.

Jessie was dreading – as much as she could – Peter Hale's arrival. The way he circled the Nogitsune on that couch like a smug ass just grated on her, just a bit. "He doesn't look like he would survive a slap across the face, much less the bite of a werewolf. And he definitely wouldn't survive the transfusion process required to transform into a vampire."

"You don't think either option would work?" Scott asked, at a loss of any other option or way to interpret the scroll they went through so much trouble to find.

"This is more a war of the mind than the body," Peter answered as he bent in front of the Nogitsune, peering into him. "There are better methods to winning this battle."

"What kind of methods?" Deaton asked curiously.

Peter stood up straight and flicked his claws out, "We're going to get into his head."

* * *

"Gavin, welcome," Connor joyously and sarcastically belted when he opened the door of the loft he shared with Jessie to see his big brother on the other side, looking impatient already.

"Connor, I didn't realize you were in Beacon Hills," he responded. "What are you doing here?"

"You know mum assigned me to Jessie, brother," Connor smirked. "She insisted we had to come back. Something about that banshee girl screaming and so we packed right up and came back to town. You know she's the real boss here, mate. And things were busy as all holy hell when we did. There wasn't time to schedule a brotherly bonding session."

"Melissa tells me that Jessie's locked away all her emotions, care to explain that?" Gavin interrogated.

Connor opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of scotch, grabbing a couple glassed from the cabinet to left and started pouring, "You've studied the vampire lore, they can turn off their emotions, since they're so tied to their powers and their control. Of course, it was just a myth. By the time we were training, vampires had been dead for decades and most proven information about them had been lost just as long. But Alex coached her through the process when it became apparent that Jessie wasn't going to gain control so soon after all she went through. And it worked. And then Alex died."

"What?" Gavin exclaimed. "Alex Wolfgang. The Alex Wolfgang?"

"The same," Connor muttered, pushing a glass towards Gavin before taking a sip of his drink. "We were tracking a big nasty in the woods. I was with Nick and Monroe. She was with Alex. It got to them while we were split up and tore him to shreds right in front of her. Of course, she instantly healed from any injuries it gave her. The beast got away, it was too late for Alex. She lost it. She was screaming bloody murder and she nearly tore Nick's head off with her teeth. Monroe and I had to wrangle her over to his house. Sienna coached her into locking her emotions away again."

"So, is that what it takes?" Gavin posited. "To bring her to full power and full emotional range – lose someone she loves?"

"I hope that isn't the only trigger," Connor joked. "Why do you wanna know? Is that what you came here for?"

"Not only," he answered, taking a sip of his own drink. "We're getting our asses handed to us, Connor. We've never faced Japanese demons. We need Jessie up to her real fighting speed or we don't stand a bloody chance."

"We're agreed on that, brother," Connor said, finally taking it all seriously. "But before, we didn't even know it was possible for her to lock them away. How are we supposed to find out how to get her to unlock them? Short of putting a gun to one of her friend's heads."

Gavin sighed, a touch hopeless, "I have no idea. But we have to figure it out."

* * *

Lydia and Peter were off to the side whispering to each other as Scott braced himself behind Stiles' on the couch. Jessie walked over to his side, "You can do this, Scott. You're the true Alpha."

"I've never done this before," he pointed out. "We both know how dangerous something like this is."

"We have a plan now," Jessie answered.

"Scott is going to try and dig through pale and sickly Evil Stiles' mind to unearth pale and sickly Real Stiles," Peter announced, walking over with Lydia. "Then guide him back from the depths of his own subconscious. But he's not going to do it alone."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

Peter peered over at Georgie with almost lecherous eyes, "Somebody needs to go in with you."

* * *

Kira followed Allison through the school hallways like a frightened doe, even with her sword in her hands. They stalked into the boys locker room, crawling against opposite walls. She could hear Isaac muttering about burning the twins for those they killed. She approached the door to Coach's office just as he was walking out with a lit rag in a bottle of booze. On instinct, she thrust out her blade and sliced the rag, letting it fall to the ground.

He stared over at her, "Nice sword."

She raised it again just as he made to move for her, Allison jumped behind him, kicking him into the back of the neck. They all paused when they heard a loud bang and saw Dechtire and Nuala rushing through, lifting out long stun guns. They each took aim and fired, getting Isaac in the chest between Allison and Kira, and Aidan in the chest just behind them. Dechtire started running towards them, "In that room, now!"

The girls raced into Coach's office and slammed the door closed, rushing to push the desk against it so they couldn't get in. They looked out the window of the door into the locker room, seeing Isaac had gone wolf and was glaring at them with his teeth out and the twins flanking him from behind. Kira gulped, "Was that a good idea?"

"Probably not," Allison answered honestly.

Isaac turned around to face the twins, roaring at them with ferocity as they started slashing at each other. Kira squeaked, "They're not going to kill each other, are they?"

Allison flinched as the twins threw Isaac's upper body through the window, shattering it, "I think they're going to try."

* * *

"So, what do we do if we find him?" Scott asked nervously as he slipped his claws out behind Stiles' and Georgie's necks.

"You're going to have to guide him out somehow," Peter told him. "Try to give him back control of his mind, his body."

"How do we do that?" Georgie asked, scared of what she was about to do for him.

"Improvise," Peter tutted.

Scott looked down pensively, "What if this is just another trick?"

Peter guffawed, "When are you people going to start trusting me?"

"I meant him," Scott indicated Stiles with his look.

"Oh."

"Scott, we're running out of time," Deaton urged him.

"You can do this," Jessie reiterated.

Scott took a deep breath, closing his eyes. The next time he opened them, they were vibrant red and he could feel the Alpha spark pulsing through him. He laid his claws against the skin behind their necks, and then slipped them in with as much precision as he could.

* * *

Chris woke tied to a chair to the feeling of cold liquid splashing on his face and the putrid smell of gasoline invading his nostrils and his mouth. "Derek. Okay, listen. Listen to me. Whatever's gotten into your head, this isn't the way to deal with it."

"You burn my family, I burn yours," Derek taunted as he emptied the container of gasoline over him, tossing the plastic onto the wooden floors with a couple of high pitched thumps. He pulled out a zippo lighter and dangled the open flame in front of his face, "In fact, I'll burn the whole building down around you."

Chris flinched away from the flame, blowing it out. Derek launched forward and clamped his hand around Chris' nose and mouth. He struggled to breath and throw his hand off, but Derek had werewolf strength. With a mocking chuckle, Derek let go, and went back to playing with the lighter.

Chris yelled, "That was Kate. You know I had nothing to do with that. I'm not your enemy, Derek. Not anymore."

"Yeah, you are," Derek retorted, waving the lighter close to the hunter again. "You and Allison. Which is why, I'm not gonna light this yet." He pulled the lighter away, abruptly closing it, "I'm not. We're going to wait until she gets home. And we're going to let her watch."

* * *

Back at the McCall house, Jessie was getting an itching feeling in the back of her neck, like something was wrong outside of the house. When her phone rang, she had to answer, knowing who it was, "Marissa?"

"What?" Lydia asked, looking over at her.

" _Jessie, thank god,_ " Marissa gasped into the phone. " _Something is wrong with Derek. He was acting strange when I got home from the store, and then he just walked out. And now he's not answering his phone. He's acting really unlike himself._ "

"Go to Argent's apartment, now," Jessie answered. "I'll meet you there."

She didn't wait for an answer and just hung up, telling the others she had to go. "Go?" Lydia asked. "Go where? We need you here."

"No, you don't," Jessie assured her. "I need to stop Derek from doing something bad. Keep me posted, okay?"

Lydia reluctantly nodded and hugged the girl tightly before she left.

* * *

"You just saved my job," Alec muttered in disbelief as he walked into his office.

Rafael shut the door after he walked in, "Probably."

"Why?" he still couldn't believe it.

"Two reasons," Rafael held up a couple fingers. "One, I don't think Sherlock Holmes could figure out half the bizarre crap happening in this town. I mean, this place is literally the Bermuda Triangle of homicides, disappearances, and strange occurrences."

The Sheriff chuckled, "I can't argue that. What's number two?"

Rafael sighed, "Kicking you out of a job is not why I came back here. It was an excuse to stay."

"You stalled the impeachment," he realized.

He nodded, "That's right."

"Because you want to talk to Scott."

He nodded again, "That's right."

The Sheriff sighed, "You did me a huge favor today. Let me do you a small one. Tell him. The next time you see him, just tell him everything."

* * *

Georgie whimpered as her fear and breathing spiked when she opened her eyes and discovered she and Scott were both strapped down to hospital beds, in a room that looked like the one Stiles' had stayed in at Eichen House. She looked over to see Scott struggling to break free, and failing. "Scott? Aren't you a werewolf?"

He gave her a look, "We're in Stiles' head."

"So, what?" she asked. "Be a werewolf and break free."

He started pulling on his bonds, letting out grunts in his effort until finally he pulled his hands free. He got out of the rest of his restraints and ran over to get her free too. "What now?"

She shrugged, "We find Stiles. And that's the only way out of this room," she gestured to the door in front of them.

"Just stay behind me," he told her, slowly approaching the door.

He opened it and walked through first, but before she could follow, the door slammed shut. She banged on it in frustration, "Scott! Scott!"

Georgie kept banging until she heard something, something like sizzling. She sniffed curiously when she smelled the scent of burning. Something was burning. The room suddenly felt hot and suffocating. And it felt horribly familiar. She turned around and saw she wasn't in the Eichen room anymore. She was in a house – her house, from when she as a little girl. She had no memories of it, they had left it behind when she was three. She had seen photos though and knew that was where she was.

The sizzling was growing louder and she finally knew why, part of the house was on fire. She heard painful screeching and started racing down the hall to the stairs. "Mom? Dad?" She ran up the stairs, taking two at a time, until she peered down the upstairs hallway to see the bathroom on fire.

"Oh, my god," she breathed.

* * *

Scott felt like he was thrown into the middle of a dream as he moved his lips with Allison's in her bedroom closet. But he didn't care. He didn't yet realize that anything was amiss. He heard a whimper, not Allison's, and pulled away with a grunt.

"Shh," she tilted his chin to face her again.

"I thought I heard something," he told her.

"It's okay," she cooed. "You're with me. Everything's fine. We just have to be quiet. Really quiet."

She started kissing him again and he couldn't pull away.

* * *

Georgie finally made it into the bathroom, following the screams, only to see that the bathroom was nearly untouched and empty. The bath tub against the wall was nearly overflowing though, water lightly splashing onto the tiles floor underneath it. She heard a slight growling behind her and gasped when she turned around and saw what Stiles sees as the Nogitsune in his head – the body of Rhys they'd found in the walls of Eichen house – with silver teeth peaking out of it's mouth. She smothered the scared shriek she wanted to let out and instead glared at the demon, "You can't have him."

It didn't say anything, instead reaching out and pushing her. With a gasp, and some sort of supernatural force of gravity, she fell into the overflowing tub, only able to look up through the waving surface of water to see the Nogitsune reaching in to hold her under with its hands.

She let out a scream, the sound muffled by the water.

* * *

Back in the house, Georgie's head was beginning to fall limply, blood dripping out of her nose. Melissa gasped and almost went to her, "Look at that. Do you see that? She's bleeding."

Peter stepped forward, worried too. When Melissa went to follow, Deaton blocked her with his arm, "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"What's wrong with her?" Lydia bit her lip behind them.

Peter kneeled in front of Georgie and cupped her face in his hands, "Georgie, can you hear me? Georgie, you're stronger than this. You're a witch, now act like it. Okay? You need to concentrate."

Her eyeballs fluttered around behind her eyelids rapidly as her breathing grew deeper and slower.

* * *

Georgie fought and struggled under the Nogitsune's hold, holding her breath as long as she could possibly hold it. She still felt whimpers and paints moans trying to worm their way through her throat as he held her down harder, leaving bruises in her shoulders. For a moment, the Nogitsune flashed away and she saw a woman there instead, with long, thick brown curls and green eyes. Just as fast as she appeared, she was gone and the Nogitsune was killing her.

* * *

Peter could see he needed to get her attention and snap her out of what was happening. He held her face firmly and shouted, "GEORGIE!"

* * *

"Why are we in your closet?" Scott chuckled as he kept kissing Allison.

"We're hiding," she smirked.

"From who, your dad? He asked.

"Don't worry about it," she brushed her lips against his.

He pulled away, "Doesn't your dad know we're together?"

She pressed her finger against his lips and shhed him again, "Shh. It's okay. Don't worry."

Scott's forehead creased as he remembered something, being in this closet with her before. He whirled them around, pressing his back against the closet door. "Hold on, Allison, we're not together."

"What?" she frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We're not together anymore," he repeated. "I remember this moment, when you asked me if I was still waiting for you. It made me realize that I wasn't, I wanted Jessie." He let out a breath as he heard Peter's voice screaming Georgie's name. "This is wrong. This is a trick."

He pushed her away, ignoring her cry, "No!" and pushed against the closet door until he gave out.

* * *

Georgie didn't know if she was crying because she was underwater. But then the tub and the world around her began to shake as she heard Peter's voice cry, "GEORGIE!"

_This is a trick,_ she realized in her head. She closed her fists around the Nogitsune's wrists and pushed up, pushed her body up and pushed against him with all the power inside of her. She took in a huge gasp as her face finally broke through the surface of the water and shook herself free of her captor. But when she opened her eyes, she wasn't in the burning house or the tub full of water. She was in some large, brightly lit, room. She was still taking in large breaths of air before she heard Scott say her name. She looked over as he ran to her side and helped her on her feet.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking around. Scott wasn't answering her, instead looking forward. She followed his gaze and saw two figures sitting on the stump of the Nemeton, playing some sort of checkers game – Go, that Noshiko played. One was the Nogitsune, the demon trying to kill her with water just a few seconds ago. The other, was Stiles. Both were enamored with the game, paying great attention to their slow moves. They were so far across the large garage style of a room.

"We need to get to him," Scott gasped, taking her hand and running with her right behind him. They ran and ran and sprinted until they ran out of breath. The moment they caught their breath, they were the same distance from Stiles.

Georgie took a deep breath, and started sprinting again. Again, once she had to stop as her legs and lungs were burning, Scott and her hadn't made an inch of the distance. She called out, "Stiles! Stiles!" trying to get his attention, waving her hands.

"Stiles, over here!" Scott yelled with her. But Stiles' didn't even seem to budge, or hear them.

* * *

Derek paced rapidly behind the desk, speaking like a crazy person, "Why shouldn't I kill you? How many of us have you murdered? You're not my ally. You're not my ally. You're a hunter."

"You're right. I am a hunter," Chris answered calmly. "Trained before I could even speak, and trained others. Do you know what the first lesson we teach is? We take our children, we bind them in a chair just like this. Then we wait for them to get out. Most of them, it takes hours. Others? Seconds."

He threw his body backwards, feeling the chair break to pieces beneath him. Derek roared loudly as he transformed. Chris reached under his desk to grab the gun strapped to the bottom and quickly pushed himself to his feet in time to put the gun under Derek's chin. "I don't want to kill you, Derek. Don't make me kill you."

"Don't kill him!" Marissa rushed in.

"It's not really him," Jessie ran in behind her. "It's gonna get knocked out of him soon."

* * *

"This is useless," Georgie sagged. "We have to figure out another way to call him out of this."

"How can we if we can't get to him?" Scott asked.

"Well, how does an Alpha usually call his pack members?" Georgie asked, exasperated.

Scott perked up with realization, "That's it." Georgie was confused until she saw him face Stiles again, take a deep, powerful breath and let out a deep, guttural growl echoing through the whole room, shaking it. They saw Stiles' head finally face them as his body perked up, finally noticing them. Georgie sighed inwardly in relief as Stiles glare at the Nogitsune and swiped at the Go pieces, throwing them all off the board. The Nogitsune tried to pull Stiles pack in, growling in anger. But the whole place was shuttering and cracking down around them.

* * *

Allison and Kira were back to back with their weapons, preparing to hold off three rapid werewolves. Nuala and Dechtire were sneaking around behind the wolves when each one suddenly spluttered and passed out on the ground.

* * *

Derek seemed ready to strike and attack Chris when suddenly his body seized and fell onto the ground of the den. Marissa rushed to his side and started slapping his face and calling for him to wake up.

* * *

Georgie and Scott let out great gasps as they were pushed out of Stiles' head. Georgie nearly fell forward onto the floor but Deaton caught her. "Did it work?"

"Did it work?" Scott asked at the same time that he ran around the couch to survey Stiles. Stiles didn't look like he was even breathing.

"Stiles?" Georgie crouched in front of him. "Stiles, wake up, please."

"Why didn't it work?" Lydia asked, staring at Peter.

"Because it's not science, Lydia," Peter told her. "It's supernatural." He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the group, "I did my part. Now give me the name."

Scott looked at them, "What name? What are you talking about?"

"Lydia, a deal is a deal. Even with me," Peter warned her.

She slowly nodded and leaned up, whispering in his ear, "Malia."

Stiles suddenly seized up and fell to the ground coughing. Georgie tried to rub his back and support him but shrunk back when he coughed out a length of gauze, dirty gauze. Lydia reached over and pulled her to her feet, ducking behind Deaton with Melissa, Peter and Scott guarding them from either side. Stiles kept pulling at the gauze, revealing more and more just coming out of his throat. He kept choking as he moved out of him rapidly, started to create a winding pile on the floor. He grunted in discomfort as he struggled to yank out the last of it and fall to the floor behind him.

Georgie went to go to his side but before she could get close, a hand shot out of the pile of gauze. She let out a noise as she shrunk back, startled like the others. Another hand slowly reached out of the pile, both hands hitting the wooden floor and pulled a body out, head first. It was the Nogitsune, gauze and leather jacket included. It kept pulling itself out onto the ground until it was standing in front of them, looking at its own hands as if in fear.

Scott and Peter lept forward as it jerked, grabbing its arms and holding it to the cushioned chair behind it. "Hold him!" Scott grunted.

Peter groaned, "I'm trying," as it struggled around in their arms.

Scott tried harder before he heard muffled noises under the gauze completely covering the Nogitsune's face. The face was whipping around and groaning almost in fear. Scott stopped, reached forward and started pulling at the gauze around its head.

He gasped when he revealed Stiles' face, disoriented and searching wildly for something to see, "Scott?"

Scott was about to celebrate but stopped when he heard his mom say his name, "Scott!"

He looked back to see Deaton and his mom looking worried, looking back at the open door leaving the house. "Where are they?" he asked, getting blank looks in return. He ran forward, "Where are they?" and out the door, calling out their names, "Georgie! Lydia!"

Stiles shrunk in on himself in guilt and despair as he heard his best friend yell his friend and girlfriend's names in such worry and desperation.


	18. The Whole Story

Kira and Allison flinched while Dechtire and Nuala didn't even blink while Deaton held each wolf's face under the running shower head and dug into their throats haphazardly and pulled out flies. Isaac was last, wiping off the black goo he's been spitting up, feeling more like himself.

"Are they okay now?" Allison asked.

"I hope so," the vet answered. "The part that's worrisome, is that this was most likely just a distraction for what was happening to Stiles."

"A pretty lethal distraction," Dechtire muttered under her breath.

"There's really two of them now?" Kira asked, still worried.

"How can a demon just clone his bag of bones like that?" Nuala asked. "I mean, I've never seen a possession like this before."

"And how did one just take two girls right from under you?" Aidan growled, worried about Lydia. "How does not one of you notice him getting away with them?"

"Most of us were concentrated on the bizarre sight of a creature materializing from out of the floor," Deaton deadpanned, giving him a look.

"How do we know which Stiles is Stiles and which is the demon?" Dechtire asked, all business.

Deaton turned his attention to her, "That's what they're trying to figure out now."

* * *

Scott and Jessie looked at any point in the room other than near each other while waiting for Noshiko to arrive with the Oni to check Stiles. They didn't know what to say to each other. Until Scott spoke without thinking, "Isaac said he went to see you. After he got out of the hospital. And even though he may have been under the influence of the Nogitsune, he could tell that you weren't yourself. What did you two talk about?"

"He just showed up," Jessie shrugged, nonchalant. "He kissed me. And I told him to leave. That's it."

"He kissed you?" Scott couldn't keep the tinge of jealously and insecurity in his tone, but kept his cool.

Jessie gave him a look, so he wasn't that cool, "Like you said, he was under the influence."

Then there was a knock at the door, revealing Noshiko when Jessie blurred over and opened it.

* * *

Melissa was checking Stile's vitals in Scott's room, almost hesitating before checking his pulse. "Well... medically, you seem okay. You're definitely a real person."

Stiles sighed, "Okay, so I'm real, but am I really me?" Scott and Jessie walked into the room, Stiles perking up and asking, "Is she here?"

They nodded and Scott supported his body weight down the stairs as he was too weak to walk without help. Noshiko stood in the middle of the living room.

Stiles croaked, "Okay, let's do this."

"Do you recognize me?" Noshiko asked with an edge.

He gave a short nod just as Kira rushed in, "Stop!"

"It's okay," Stiles assured her. "I'm the one who asked her to come."

"You're the one who's going to get stabbed with swords," Kira stressed. "Mom, don't do this to him."

"It's already done," Noshiko spoke as two Oni materialized like puffs of smoke behind and in front of Stiles. One grabbed his arms from behind and the other clamped its hand around Stiles' neck. Stiles seized in their arms, feeling an icy heat flow through his veins, like he was in a dark room all alone. Abruptly, they let go of him and he felt to the ground, to his knees. Noshiko said, "Look behind his ear."

Scott rushed over and checked the skin behind Stiles' ear, seeing the backwards 5 etched into his skin. "It worked."

"So, I'm actually me?" Stiles asked, weakly.

"More you than the Nogitsune," Noshiko answered.

"Can the Oni find him?" Stiles asked desperately as the Oni disappeared.

"Tomorrow night," she said. "It's too close to dawn now."

"Can they take him out?" Jessie asked, eager for this whole ordeal to be over.

"It depends on how strong he is," Noshiko theorized.

"What about Lydia and Georgie?" Scott asked, still worried about them. "Why would he take them?"

"I do not know what he would want with the witch," Noshiko frowned. "But he would only take Lydia for an advantage."

"Her banshee scream," Jessie slowly realized something. "Someone is going to die."

Everyone gave her a quick look, Scott asking, "What?"

"Think about it," she said. "Lydia can tell when someone is close to death. She could warn us if something were to happen to one of us. He doesn't want her to be able to do that."

"So, what?" Stiles asked. "He's going to kill someone? We know he will kill any one of us. I wanna know why he took Georgie!"

"We'll find her, Stiles," Jessie stressed.

* * *

Georgie groaned as she came to, shivering violently in the cold. She flinched when she moved her head and felt a jolt of pain, reaching up to feel a slight bump at her hairline.

"Well, well," she heard the croak of Stiles' voice, but another demonic edge to it that told her it definitely wasn't Stiles. "Sleeping beauty awakes."

"Screw you," she spat, finally opening her eyes to see that she was carelessly slumped over in some cold, dank, long stretch of hallway. She could vaguely hear dripping echoing in the distance, and her bare feet felt cold and wet.

The Nogitsune smirked and clicked its tongue at her, "So much fire for someone who's going to lose."

"You don't know that," she muttered. "It's all of us against one of you."

"Your team is hardly up to fighting speed," it chuckled. "I've got you down here, Lydia's wandering around like a scared little chicken, and your little boyfriend is going to die."

Georgie took in a small gasp at the thought, "No, he's not."

The Nogitsune crouched over her, leaning uncomfortably close to her face, hissing, "Yes, he is. The stronger I get, the weaker he is."

* * *

"How are they going to find him?" Kira asked her mother as they walked into the house. "And what are we supposed to do until then? Sit around and wait?"

Noshiko had walked over to the cabinet next to the couch and pulled out a game board and two bowls with lids on them, setting them on the coffee table. "Sit and learn."

Kira eyed her mother skeptically, "You want to teach me to play a board game? Now?"

"Scott said he saw Stiles and the Nogitsune playing the game of Go," Noshiko told her daughter. "That's a very important detail. Perhaps, even crucial." She started setting up the game, calculated, "Play starts with an empty board. Black is always placed first. Then white. You place stones to create territories. And you capture your opponent's stones by completely surrounding them."

Kira scoffed, "This is life and death, Mom! It isn't a game."

Noshiko gave her a stern look, "It is to him. And he's winning. You want to save your friends? You want them to survive? Learn to play."

* * *

The Nogitsune smirked and sauntered after a fleeing Lydia in the dank hallways, in no rush as he taunted her, "Can you hear them? Louder than usual, isn't it?"

Lydia ran her hands against the stone walls as she tried to ignore the agonized screams and shouts in her ears.

"Well, that's because a lot of bad things happened down here," it droned on. "What are the voices telling you? Are they saying that Stiles is dying? He is, you know. He's dying."

Lydia saw a sliver of light and lept forward when she saw a door made of bars, angrily pushing them as she shrieked back at the demon, "Then what do you need me for? You think I can tell you something?"

"Oh, I know you can," he laughed.

"I'm not telling you anything?" she yelled.

"You won't have to," his guttural voice answered right behind her, making her squeak in terror and face him. "You'll be screaming."

* * *

Scott and Jessie walked close to each other and closely behind Stiles, waiting for him to just collapse as they walked through the Sheriff's station. They could hear Alec muttered in his office, "Ah, if I could just find my keys."

Stiles leaned against the doorway, "In your coffee cup." The Sheriff whirled around, disbelief and just a hint of caution written all over his face. "You always drop them in your empty cup."

At Scott's encouraging nod, the Sheriff rushed forward and took his son in his arms, "Is it over?"

Scott walked over and retrieved the keys, "Not yet."

* * *

Marissa was trying to support Derek's weight as Chris walked them out to the elevator, even if he didn't need the help. When they were in the elevator, the werewolf held his hand out to stop the doors from closing, "You had a gun pointed at my head. You could've pulled the trigger. Why didn't you? And don't say it's because Jessie asked you not to."

"Because you're not my enemy anymore, Derek," the hunter answered honestly. "And I'm not yours."

Derek sagged a little on Marissa's shoulders, "The truth is that we should be out there looking for him. Right now. Especially if he can do something like this."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Marissa cautioned, worrying her lower lip. "If he's powerful enough to mess with you guys like this..."

"She's right," Chris added. "He's stronger than ever. Which means he'll be coming for us."

* * *

The Sheriff was moving quickly through his investigation while Scott, Stiles and Jessie waited in his office. He walked in, "We got an APB out on Lydia's car, both her and Georgie's descriptions and photos out there. Every unit on the road is looking for them."

"Isn't there anything else we can do?" Stiles' deflated more and more every second Georgie wasn't in front of him safe and sound.

"At this hour? No, not really," his dad answered.

"Why take them?" Scott asked.

"If we can figure out the why, we can figure out the where," the Sheriff pointed at him. "What would a Nogitsune need with a Banshee?"

"I think it's for her powers to sense when someone is dead or dying, finding the bodies," Jessie said. "Whether he needs to find a body or stop her from warning us that he's going to kill us – none of it is good. So, we need to find them."

"He took Georgie too!" Stiles nearly shouted, looking at all of them as they shamefully quieted. "What would he need with her? She's a witch – a healing witch. Why would he need her?"

"Maybe to mess with you," Jessie softly suggested, rubbing his arm. "Think about it, he used her to hurt you while he was possessing you. He still using her to hurt you now. She's leverage."

"She might be right, Stiles," the Sheriff agreed, turning to Scott. "Scott, you know more about this than all of us."

"Me?" Scott asked in disbelief, pointing at Jessie. "She's the one with a Grimm bestiary."

"That I gave to you," she pointed out. "He means what Noshiko told us."

"Right, you guys got the whole story," the Sheriff nodded.

"But that all happened during World War II," he protested. "Like 70 years ago."

"Wait," Stiles perked up, "what did you say?"

"Noshiko told us about the internment camp..." Scott tried to explain, but was cut off again.

"No, before that," Stiles said. "You said, the whole story."

"Yeah," the Sheriff nodded.

"What are you thinking about, Stiles?" Jessie asked him.

_"No, no, I think you're wrong," a young woman leaned at the phone box in front of them, the black phone clutched in her hands. Stiles couldn't see her face, but she had short curly black hair, like an Afro, and dressed in gray sweats. She seemed worried and stressed, her shoulders hunched. "I really think I should tell them. They're going to want to know the story. The whole story..."_

"There's a girl at Eitchen House," Stiles told them. "Her name's Meredith. I think she might be able to help."

* * *

Parrish rushed to report to the Sheriff about Meredith Walker, handing him a folder. The Sheriff peered at it, "She's still there?"

"Yeah, but they moved her to the Close Unit," the deputy answered.

"Why?" he asked.

"They said behavioral issues," Parrish answered slowly, seeming put off by something.

"What issue?" Stiles' asked eagerly.

"She wouldn't stop screaming."

* * *

Allison came to an abrupt stop in front of a gate. She, Isaac and Nuala clambered out of the car when they saw Lydia's blue car in the lot behind the gate. They ducked under the chains, "That's it. That's Lydia's car."

"You're sure?" Nuala asked, inspecting the exterior.

"I'm sure," Allison nodded.

"The scent's strong of emotion," Isaac said.

"Fear?" Allison asked.

"Anger," he corrected. "But a lot of fear from Georgie."

"Sounds like Lydia," Allison theorized. "Let's see what else we can find."

She and Nuala got into the car, while Isaac climbed into the back seat, shutting the doors. Nuala started rummaging through the console and glove compartment while Allison checked the visors and Issac checked the floor and pockets in the back of the seats. "I don't even know what we're looking for," Isaac said from the back.

"Think like Lydia or Georgie," Nuala said. "I've been kidnapped by nasties before, so my sister and I have come up with code words and bread crumbs. To help one of us find the other. You guys have been through a hell of a lot of monsters together, surely you have some kind of inside track with each other. Some kind of system."

"Nothing I can think of," Allison shook her head, really thinking hard.

"Nothing at all?" Nuala asked, coaching her. "You guys aren't new at this and Lydia is one of the smartest girls there are. My sister said she got tested and had a genius IQ. She would figure out how to leave a secret message for you."

Allison perked up, "Secret message..." She looked over at Nuala, "When Scott and I were secretly still together, we used to write a message for a secret meeting time and place in my car window." She turned to Lydia's car window and breathed on the glass, revealing the words; DON'T FIND ME.

* * *

"I hate this waiting around bullshit," Jessie cursed in the McCall kitchen, leaning heavily on the counter. She sighed, running her fingers through her long hair and gripping the ends of it before letting the strands slip through her fingers.

"Just try to relax," Scott walked around the counter to put his arm around her and pull her into his side. "It's going to be okay."

"You don't know that," Jessie said. "Lydia and Georgie have been kidnapped by a demon who wants to kill us, our biggest clue escaped from an insane asylum, Stiles is passed out and just seems to get sicker, and I – I am useless this way."

"You're not useless," Scott insisted. "And you can undo what you did any time."

"No, I can't," she insisted, finally looking at him. "You haven't seen what I'm capable of. None of us have. I don't have control. I don't know what I'm going to do to you if I let it out."

"You're not gonna hurt me," he insisted sincerely.

"How can you know that?" she posed for him, keeping her face blank.

"Because I trust you," he answered simply.

"You trust the old Jessie," she spoke slowly, rolling her eyes. "I'm not the same girl."

"Maybe not right now," he shrugged, keeping an arm around her. "But I know that you're in there."

They were cut off when they heard Stiles' shouting in the other room and rushed in to calm him as he launched off the couch. "Hey! You okay?"

"What happened?" Stiles asked. "How long was I out?"

"Just a couple of hours," Scott assured him. "You should sit down."

"Where's my dad?" he didn't listen.

"He's at Eichen House, questioning everyone. Looking for Meredith," Scott told him. "I promised him I wouldn't let you out of my sight."

"Okay, what about the others?" Stiles asked.

"Everyone is out there looking for the girls," Jessie told him.

"It's starting to feel like we're waiting for a ransom call," Stiles deflated.

"We're going to find them," Scott insisted.

Stiles pulled away and reached to pull on his coat.

"What's wrong?" Jessie asked.

"I don't know why, but I just can't seem to get warm," he told her.

Scott reached for him, "Maybe you should sit down. Take it easy," but when his fingers made contact with Stiles' wrist, black veins automatically crawled up his arm. "You're in pain."

"It's not that bad," Stiles said, falling onto the couch. "Just more like a dull ache."

"Where?" he asked.

"Sort of everywhere," he quipped weakly.

Just then the front door opened, revealing Connor and Gavin walking into the house. Connor grinned, "There you are, lovely."

"I thought you and Gavin were doing your own thing," Jessie answered him as the men walked into the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Our mum had another one of her visions," Connor answered, gesturing with his head to Stiles', "about your boy here."

"Vision?" Scott asked. "Who's your mother?"

"She's the one who foretold my death," Jessie told him, brushing her hand down his arm. She looked at Connor, "What did she see?"

"Not really a what, like events, and more like what, a reason," Gavin explained. "She knows what's happening to Stiles, and we need to find a way to stop it."

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked.

"The Nogitsune, the other you running around out there," Connor waved his pointer finger outside the door. "He's siphoning his strength from you. He's draining you so he grows more powerful."

"What?" Scott asked, exponentially more worried. "How can he do that?"

"He's a trickster demon, mate," Connor shrugged. "Even your dear ol' future step-dad couldn't answer that one."

Gavin gave his brother a warning look, "Connor..."

"It's okay," Scott cut them off, waving his hand. "Is there a way to stop what's happening to Stiles?"

"That's what we need to find out," Gavin replied.

Scott's phone rang so he dug it out and answered it, "It's Kira." His face dropped to shock when he heard what she was saying.

"What is it, Scott?" Jessie asked.

"Meredith's at the High School."


	19. Tragic Trigger

Chris let himself down in the storage area for his apartment, knowing he'd find his daughter there. He found her dismantling the sight of her crossbow methodically. "I had a feeling you might be down here."

"I needed to do something," she answered him. "I hate waiting. Feeling useless."

"Where's Isaac and that other hunter?" he asked.

"Isaac and Nuala went to help Scott," she said.

Chris let her work for a few more seconds before gently grasping her hands and pulling them away from the crossbow, "Leave it for now, huh? I have something else you can do." He went over to some cabinets and pulled out a case. "Something we should've done a while ago." He opened the case to reveal a couple rows of silver squares. "It's time for you to graduate."

* * *

"I need to go," Jessie was saying as the others were about to rush to the school.

Scott turned around, shocked, "What? What are you talking about?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, just as confused by what she was saying. "I gotta go see Allison. I think it's important."

" _This_  is important," Stiles protested, jumping into his jeep.

"I don't know what to tell you," she said helplessly. "I'll meet up with you later, I swear." She briefly cupped Scott's cheek, "When your dad wants to talk to you, talk to him. Even if the timing seems wrong. It's really important."

He had learned not to question her too much when she told them things like this, instead nodding, "Okay. Check in soon. I need to know you're safe."

She nodded, "I promise," kissing his cheek and running into her car before driving away.

"Touching," Connor remarked sarcastically. "There may be hope for you yet, mate."

* * *

Lydia slithered down some stairs to another barred exit, "They'll find me. My friends are going to find me."

"You think so?" the Nogitsune taunted her, sitting at the top of the steps. "I myself, was wondering what they're doing right now. What useless lead they're chasing. I wonder if maybe some of them have bigger problems to deal with right now. Are they really spending every minute looking for you? Or... are they waiting for nightfall? Focused on some hopeless gesture to pass the time."

Lydia whimpered in despair, "What do you want?"

"More," he growled, standing up and finally sauntering down the steps.

She turned around, not bothering to wipe the tears stains under her eyes, "More what?"

"The Trickster stories are all about food, Lydia," he told her. "The Coyote, the Raven, the Fox. They're all hungry. I'm the same. I just crave something a little different."

She started when he jumped out at her, spinning around and pressing her forehead against the bars.

He pressed his lips to the shell of her ear, "I eat what you feel. And I am insatiable."

* * *

Scott and Stiles met up with Kira and Coach as they roamed the halls looking for where Meredith had run off to. Coach paused when he saw Brunski grinning and walking into the band room. "I don't like that asshole."

They ran in after him as they heard Brunski threaten her with his large taser. Coach was the one who stepped in, grabbing his hand with the taser, "This school has a very strict no bullying policy." He overpowered Brunski and pushed the live taser into his chest. The orderly grunted in pain and fell to the ground. Coach turned to them expectantly, "Well? Get her outta here."

They quickly grabbed Meredith's arms and led her out to the jeep, hopping in. Kira said she'd call them before running off on her own. Stiles and Scott turned eagerly to Meredith in the back seat, "Okay, where's Lydia?"

Meredith frowned in confusion, "Who's Lydia?"

* * *

Chris spoke smoothly as he guided Allison through the process of making a silver bullet. "Remember, you can start over. I was a bit of a perfectionist about it myself. I always wanted the seal to look just right," he held up his token silver bullet.

"How many did you make?" she asked curiously.

"Six," he told her. "But I used them all. Only at close range, though. Despite some other legends, silver's not really as accurate as lead."

He went to leave her to it, but she spoke before he could, "Dad, wait. I think I should use my own mold."

He was surprised, "You have a bullet mold?"

She shook her head, "No, not a bullet. An arrowhead. The bow is my weapon. So, I should make a silver arrowhead." He seemed pleased with her and smiled and nodded. He went to leave again but she spoke again, "Dad... if something happens..."

"Hey, hey," he shushed her, "you don't need to worry about me."

"Well, yeah," she sighed. "If it hadn't of been for Jessie, then I never would have been able to say anything to Mom before..."

"I'm going to be around for a long time," he tried to assure her. "I promise."

"Well, then take it as a reminder. Maybe you don't need to hear it, but I need to know that I said it," she spoke shakily. "I love you. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of us."

He smiled down at his beautiful daughter, amazed at the strong woman and hunter she'd become, and leaned down to kiss her head.

* * *

When Scott, Stiles and Meredith made it to the McCall house, Scott should have been more surprised to see his father in the kitchen with Isaac and Nuala. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Rafael answered.

"Free period," Stiles thought on his feet. "We're doing group study."

Rafael gestured to Meredith, "Who's she?"

Stiles put his arm around her shoulder, "She's my girlfriend."

"You're not my type," she said, shattering his lie.

He kept a straight face though, "Well, obviously we have a lot to talk about. We should maybe take this upstairs."

Meredith wasn't listening though. She was looking at Isaac, "He's my type."

"Okay," Stiles muttered. "Isaac, you can come too."

"Wait for me," Nuala muttered, right behind him.

Isaac and Nuala followed Stiles and Meredith up the stairs. Scott went to follow but his dad blocked him. Scott sighed, "Hey, Dad, I'll explain all of this later."

"I don't care that you're not in school," his father told him. "I know your grades are fine. All I want to do is talk."

"Now's really not a good time," Scott insisted.

But so did his father, "Scott. We need to talk."

_When your dad wants to talk to you, talk to him. Even if the timing seems wrong. It's really important._

Scott thought of Jessie's words and finally nodded, following his father into the side family room across from the kitchen.

* * *

Stiles and Isaac were trying to find something to get Meredith to get on their train of thought and find Lydia. Nuala was the one to get something out of her, asking, "Okay, Meredith, what can you tell us about Lydia? What are the voices telling you?"

Meredith perked, "Lydia? You mean the red-haired girl."

"Yes!" Stiles piped up, excited that they were finally getting somewhere. "Yes! Good. Progress. Now, all you got to do is tell us where she is."

"Okay," she nodded. "Okay. If she tells me."

"If she tells you?" Isaac asked. "Can you ask her?"

Meredith smiled widely, gushing, "I already did."

"Perfect," Stiles smiled. "What did she say? Did she say anything about Georgie?"

This time Meredith's smile fell, "She said she doesn't want to be found. And I don't know who Georgie is. Lydia is alone. She isn't with anyone else. Just him."

Stiles instantly dropped, "What? What does – what does that mean, she's not with anyone else? Where is Georgie!?"

"Stiles, stay calm," Nuala put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure this out. He took her, he has to have her with Lydia. He probably just isolated them from each other."

* * *

"Come here," Rafael asked, leading his son to the bottom of the stairs. He crouched down over the wooden floor, pointing out a slight depression in the floor, "You see this? This indent in the floor... That was from your head."

Scott surveyed his dad with shock.

Rafael was obviously having a hard time getting the words he needed out, "The night before I moved out your mother and I were fighting. You came out of your room. I grabbed you by the wrist. You pulled back. And you fell. We watched you tumble down those stairs. You were out for probably 20 seconds. When you came to, you didn't remember a thing. Your mom told me to be out by the morning. That was the last time I ever had a drink. And that's why I left."

* * *

Stiles and Isaac hissed to each other in the bathroom, hoping Meredith couldn't hear them while Nuala kept talking to her. Stiles scoffed at Isaac, "Isaac, we're not going to torture her."

"I meant scare her," he corrected himself. "You heard what she said about Georgie."

"I know, but we're not going to psychologically torture her," Stiles insisted. "No matter what, I am going to find Georgie."

"Well, this chick hear things, right?" Isaac asked. "Doesn't that mean she's like Lydia? A banshee?"

* * *

Scott stormed into living room, "Okay, Dad. Let me show you something. See the edge of this window sill? When I got my first skateboard, I slid right into it. Broke my collarbone." He gestured to the coffee table, "This used to be glass. Until I fell on top of it trying to catch a lacrosse ball from Stiles. I got three stitches in my cheek," he pointed to the small scar under his eye. "This house is full of accidents. The stairs? Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was worse. But I healed. I don't need your apology." He saw his father's face contorting a bit but kept talking, wanting to get away from the conversation, "So... see you at graduation. Or whenever you decide to show up again."

* * *

"Okay, just try to focus on the sounds around you," Stiles coached Meredith.

"On what you're hearing," Isaac added.

"Just focus on the silence," Stiles said.

"Listen to the silence," Isaac said.

"Focusing on the silence," Stiles stressed.

"Listening to the..." he started saying.

Nuala snapped at them, "Will you two quit it? Stiles, you have experience with banshees, you can do this."

"Isn't anyone going to get that?" Meredith asked.

The three others paused, looking at her inquisitively. "Get what?" Stiles asked.

"The phone," she answered.

"What phone?" he asked again, as they only heard silence.

"The phone," Nuala and Isaac smacked his shoulder, gesturing to his pocket to get him to play along.

He caught on, "Oh, the phone. My phone." He reached into his coat pocket and took out his phone, pretending to answer it, "Hello. Yes, she's actually sitting right here." He held it out to her awkwardly, "It's for you."

She grinned and held the phone to her ear, listening intently to something. After a moment, she handed the phone back to him.

Nuala asked, "What did they say, Meredith?"

"They say coup de foundre," she repeated.

Nuala instantly remembered what those words meant. But Isaac and Stiles had no clue. Stiles asked, "Coup de what? What is that – Spanish?"

"It's French," Nuala and Scott said at the same time.

The group turned to see Scott walking into the room, "It's French."

* * *

"What are you making?"

Allison jumped from her work when she heard Jessie's voice. She turned around to see the other girl leaning against the storage beam. "What are you doing here?"

Jessie seemed to have to think about it, "... I don't know."

Allison just got more confused by that answer, "I don't understand."

"I don't either," Jessie admitted, leaning off the beam and walking over to her. "What are you making?"

"Um, silver arrowheads," Allison stammered. "Dad said it was time I graduate. Usually, hunters forge a silver bullet, but I thought I'd make a-"

"Silver arrowhead," Jessie finished for her with a slight smile. "Suits you."

Allison nodded with a smile of her own and went back to work, moving onto the next arrowhead. "It feels like something big is going to happen."

"Something big is  _already_  happening," Jessie quipped. "You and I never got a chance to really talk to each other since I got back."

"Like you said," Allison answered, "something big has been happening."

Jessie nodded absentmindedly, "Did you read it? My letter?"

Allison was carefully pouring the melted silver into her mold, "Of course I did. I'm glad we're friends again, Jessie."

Jessie tilted her head with a little smile, "Me too. I feel like I held onto my own grudge against you for too long. It took my death to really fix things between us. I wanted to take time now to give you my own apology. I shouldn't have held onto my anger for so long. I understand your own need for revenge, it blinds you to everything else. I'm sorry."

Allison set her mold down and stood up to face Jessie head on, speaking clearly, "You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I'm the one who messed up. I became a different person – the kind of person Gerard is. But I'm not that person anymore."

"I know," Jessie acknowledge. "I'm really proud of the person you are now, Allison. You used to be really clueless." The girls both laughed at that. "But now you're pretty clever, and strong. You've really earned that silver arrowhead. Graduate."

Allison smiled and eagerly accepted the hug that Jessie stepped forward to give her, the two girls embracing tightly until Jessie's phone rang. She pulled away to look at the screen, "It's Scott," and answered it, "Scott, did you find them?"

"Yes, we know where they are."

* * *

Jessie offered to drive them in her car to Oak Creek while Allison called her dad, "They found her. Scott found her, Dad. They found Lydia and Georgie. I'm on my way."

With her hearing, Jessie could hear her father protesting, "Allison, hold on. You have to wait."

"I can't, Dad," Allison insisted.

"Allison, wait for me..."

"There's no time!" she responded. "It's already night. There's no time, Dad." She hung up her phone, looking over at Jessie, "Are you ready for this?"

"Does it matter?" she questioned as she pulled up and parked the car in front of the chained-up gates.

* * *

"Hey, you okay?" Stiles' asked the worried looking Scott as they sped through the streets. Isaac and Nuala sat in the back uncomfortably.

"Yeah," Scott answered. "You don't have to worry about me."

There was an awkward silence until Isaac spoke, "All right, I'll say it. You look like you're dying." Scott gave him a chastising look, but he ignored it. "You're pale, thin and you look like you're getting worse."

"Scott said that a seer said the other Stiles was siphoning strength from you," Nuala pointed out. "And it shows. You're linked."

"What happens if he gets hurt?" Scott posed.

"You mean if he dies, do I die?" Stiles asked the question really on their minds. "Just so long as no one else dies because of me. I remember everything I did, Scott. I remember pushing that sword into you, twisting it. I remember stabbing Georgie, and lying to her, torturing her."

"It wasn't you," Scott protested.

"Yeah, but I remember it," Stiles pushed. "You guys gotta promise me. You can't let anyone else get hurt because of me."

* * *

Georgie had been wandering the halls all alone for what felt like hours. Her bare feet felt frozen as they splashed through the puddles. She had no idea where they could have come from. She couldn't remember the last time it rained. And she still felt like she was underground. She could barely see through the darkness, running her hands along the walls around her.

She felt a sudden surge of power hit her though, and heard the words  _breathe fire_ echoing in her head. But she couldn't place the voice. It was angry, hard, but feminine. She knew it was a woman. But she didn't recognize her. But she felt like she should.

She tried to search her head and her studies for any spell that could help get her out of here. She'd heard of something before, something that popped up in the Harry Potter books. It led to a whole lot more of anti-exposure laws. But it was something. So, she muttered some words under her breath and held out her hands, letting the smoke pour out of her palms. It swirled around in a spiral until it began to form something – slowly. It started bouncing around in circles until she realized what it was – a hare. She crouched over it and whispered, "Find Stiles. Tell him where I am. Bring him to me."

The hare tilted its head and slowly bounced away from her, disappearing into the darkness.

* * *

Lydia gave a hard side glance towards the Nogitsune, "You're nervous, aren't you? You know they're coming. You know they're going to kill you."

He pressed her into the wall, "Well, that's exactly why I'm keeping you so close."

His eyes drifted up the stairs where he saw a rabbit – or hare – made up of dark black smoke, leisurely hopping passed them. He smirked, "Perfect."

* * *

The jeep pulled to a stop and killed the headlights. They climbed out to meet up with Allison, Kira and Jessie with Connor. Dechtire sauntered over with a duffel bag, a smirk, and a ginger guy walking with her.

"Who are they?" Isaac drawled.

"Guys, this is my sister, Dechtire," Nuala introduced. "And our partner, Ed."

"We brought gifts," Ed grinned, taking the duffel bag from Dechtire's shoulder and laying it on the ground, opening it to reveal a collective of various weapons.

"I think I'm good," Allison held up her bow.

"Me too," Kira gulped nervously, putting her hand on her sword handle by her hip.

"We've got claws," Isaac muttered, gesturing to himself and Scott.

Nuala surveyed the weak looking Stiles and threw her hand into the open bag, pulling out a large hunting knife with a black blade. She held it out to Stiles, "Here, it's the first weapon I learned how to use. You don't look like you can hold up a gun. So, just use this if you have to."

"We've done this before, guys," Scott pointed out. "A couple of weeks ago we were standing around just like this and we saved Malia, remember? That was a total stranger. This is Lydia and Georgie."

"I'm here to save my best friend," Allison said, readying her crossbow with a new collection of silver arrowheads.

"I came to save mine," Scott said, looking at Stiles.

"I'm here to kick that son of a bitch's ass," Jessie snarled.

"I just didn't feel like doing any homework," Isaac shrugged.

The group began heading inside the gates, but before the hunters could enter, Isaac grabbed Nuala's wrist and pulled her back. She tried to ask him what he was doing but he planted his lips onto hers before she could get the question out. She was startled but found herself kissing him back. It was brief, and he pulled back with a smirk, "For luck."

They walked in, forming a line when they saw Noshiko with two Oni flanking her. The woman warned, "Kira, turn around and go home. Take your friends with you."

"I can't," Kira asked without tremor in her voice for once. "When I looked at the game I realized who I was actually playing. You."

Scott and Stiles had snuck around, ducking through the hallways as Scott followed his nose, "She's here. This way."

Back in the courtyard of the concentration camp, Kira ordered her mother to call the Oni off.

"You think you could take him alive?" Noshiko questioned. "You think you can save him?"

"I've saved people from worse cases of possession before," Dechtire snarled.

"Not like this," Noshiko told her. "I tried 70 years ago. Your friend is gone."

"Are you sure?" Kira asked her. "Or if Stiles doesn't have to die – maybe Rhys didn't have to die either?"

By the torment on her mother's face, they could all tell she was onto something. The Oni behind the older woman moved, holding up their swords. Noshiko grinned at her daughter, "I see I'm no longer the Fox now, Kira. You are. But the Nogitsune is still my demon to bury." With her words, the Oni disappeared into smoke.

* * *

The dark Stiles easily opened the bars and pushed Lydia into a cylindrical room, reaching so high up she couldn't see a ceiling or the sky. Lydia turned to face him as he slammed the bars closed, "They're here. And I don't need to scream to know that they're going to kill you."

"Good," he smirked. "Because that's exactly why I brought you. I needed to know when they'd be close enough. When my own death was closing in." As he spoke, he reached into his pocket to pull out a plain black blade, skinny and straight with only a slight curve at the top of one side – it was the last of Noshiko's 'tails.' The Oni suddenly appeared in the room, surrounding them. Lydia squeaked and walked through them, pressing herself to the wall behind them as they began closing in on the Nogitsune. But he didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat, "'Cause only when they're close, can I do this..." he pressed his thumbs into the blade and snapped it.

* * *

Noshiko suddenly frowned, feeling something in her break free. She opened her hand and watched as the firefly in her palm died out and faded away into dust. Kira was frowning at her, "Mom? What is that? What does that mean?"

"It means..." a cold, calculated and yet familiar voice sounded behind them. All turned to see the Nogitsune sauntering over to them with the Oni flanking him. "...there's been a change in ownership. Now, they belong to me."

* * *

Stiles and Scott were rushing down a corridor, getting close to Lydia, when a hare shaped smoke figure appeared in front of them, cutting them off. Before either could even question it, it spoke, in Georgie's voice, " _Find Stiles. Tell him where I am. Bring him to me._ "

"Georgie?" Stiles gasped, rushing in front of Scott to get a closer look. "Is – is that you?"

All it said was, " _Find Stiles. Tell him where I am. Bring him to me._ "

"Okay!" Stiles yelled. "So, bring me to her!"

The hare tilted its head inquisitively, saying nothing. But they heard voice, "Stiles? Is that actually you?" It was Georgie, from farther away.

The boys rushed towards her cries until they rounded a corner and literally ran into Georgie herself, looking weak, tear stained and dirty. Stiles just gasped in disbelief and wrapped his arms around her, "Oh God, I'm so glad you're okay."

Georgie cried into his shoulder, "You found me."

He swallowed the lump in his throat, pulling back to cup her face, "Of course I did. Did you think I wouldn't?"

She laughed breathlessly and shook her head, still in tears, grabbing his hand and pulling him after her the opposite direction, "Lydia – she's down here!"

The boys followed her around another corner and down some stairs to see Lydia behind bars in a cylindrical room. Scott shouted, "Lydia! Are you all right?" as he pulled the heavy door of bars open.

"No, no, no, no, no," Lydia panicked. "Why are you here?"

"Lydia, we're here for you," Stiles said, confused, leaning heavily on Georgie for support as he felt weaker and weaker each passing second.

"You weren't supposed to be here," she cried. "You didn't get my message?"

"Lydia, what are you talking about?" Georgie asked. "We gotta get out of here."

"Who else is here?" Lydia shrieked, curling her fingers into his shirt. "Who came with you? Who else is here?"

* * *

Jessie felt a fraction of her true strength coursing through her as she fought off two Oni with Connor and Dechtire. She could look around and see Isaac facing off an Oni of his own, just like Kira. Noshiko was hiding against a wall while Allison nocked arrow after arrow and tried to hit them, often missing because they stopped each arrow with their swords.

"How do we stop them?" Isaac asked loudly.

"We don't!" Jessie shouted back to him. "We hold them off until we stop  _him_!"

* * *

Scott was running with the rest behind them, Lydia and Georgie holding each arm of Stiles' as they rushed through the corridor to get to their friends. Stiles was gasping with the effort, falling limp in the girls' arms. "I can't... I can't..."

He fell, sliding down the wall, but Scott kept running. Georgie tried to get Stiles to wake up, but he was out like a light. "Stiles? Wake up, baby, please."

Lydia reached over and pressed her fingers to his neck, "He's still alive."

"Not good enough," Georgie whimpered, holding Stiles close to her.

* * *

One of them got the best of Isaac, sliding across his chest. Nuala shouted, "Isaac!" and tried to rush to his aid, but another Oni materialized behind her and sliced across her back. She let out a shriek of pain and fell to the ground on her elbows and knees.

"Nuala!" Dechtire yelled but was held back by an Oni attacking her.

They swiped at Isaac again, bringing him to his knees. Allison quickly knocked another arrow into her bow, trying to aim for the Oni about to strike Isaac with the deadly blow. Jessie blurred over to the Oni, grabbing his arm, but only able to hold his hand steady, "Allison, now!"

Allison let the arrow fly, hitting the Oni square in the chest. The wound glowed and bright yellow green color as the Oni dropped its weapon in shock. He grasped at the arrow, but it was too late. The Oni shattered into a million pieces, and the ground around them shook like an earthquake.

Allison had never felt prouder to help her protect her friends, when a sudden realization hit her. One so important, it may mean the end of this whole fight. But before the moment could pass, she felt the sharp pain of a sword slicing its way through her body.

* * *

Lydia felt an icy sharp pain stab her in the gut, and she knew what had happened. She seized up, pressing her hands into the walls flanking her and let out a scream for her best friend, "ALLISOOOOOOOON!" letting her voice go on until it died out, falling into Georgie's arms as the other girl consoled her.

* * *

"ALLISOOOOOOOON!" Jessie could hear Lydia's banshee scream in agony and grief.

"Allison!" Jessie screamed, going to rush over and give her some of her blood to heal her. But three Oni appeared around her, surrounding her with swords. One was able to grab her arms, folding them painfully behind her back. The other kicked her legs until she fell to the ground while the third held its sword to her throat. "No, no, no!"

Allison hadn't even fallen to the ground yet when Scott got there, "Allison!" running forward and catching her in his arms. Everyone was helpless to watch. Ed tried to attack one of the Oni holding Jessie, but they quickly sliced the sword just a bit into the skin of her neck.

"No, mate, they can decapitate her, and she can't heal from that," Connor warned.

Scott looked helplessly from Jessie to Allison in his arms. She was gasping, "Did you find them? Are they okay? Is Lydia safe?"

"She's okay," he assured her quickly. He reached for her hand, trying to use his powers to take away her pain, but nothing happened. "I can't... I can't take your pain."

"It's because it doesn't hurt," she whispered, peering up at him.

Scott cried, "No."

"It's okay," Allison sniffed, a tear falling down the side of her face.

Scott shook his head, "Allison," sobbing as he held her in his arms.

"It's okay. It's okay," she cooed up at him, choking up. "It's perfect. I'm in the arms of my first love. The first person I ever loved. The person I'll always love. I love you." She reached up to his face with one of her hands, "Scott. Scott McCall."

Scott wanted to tell her that he loved her too. "Don't, please, don't. Allison, don't, please."

She gasped out, "You have to tell my dad... you have to... you have to tell him. Tell him..." but before she could finish her message, her face went blank and slack and her eyes unfocused.

Scott shouted, "No!" but she went limp in his arms, the hand caressing his cheek falling to the ground.

The Oni all disappeared, freeing Jessie. She rushed over to Scott and Allison, roughly biting into her wrist until it was dripping blood. She pinched Allison's cheeks together and pressed her open wrist over her mouth, letting the blood drip onto her tongue. "Allison, you have to drink it. Come on. Come on!"

Scott looked up at her hopelessly, "Why won't it work?"

Jessie pulled her now-healed wrist to her chest, falling back onto her knees, resting her but on her heels. "It doesn't work if they're already dead."

Chris Argent ran into the camp, guns blazing, but halted abruptly when he saw his daughter laying limp in her ex-boyfriend's arms. He felt a cold shock go through him, not wanting to believe any of this was happening.

Jessie stared at Allison's unmoving face and body for a moment, before she blurred away. One moment she was there, the next – gone.

"Where-" Scott started to ask but was cut off when they all heard a shrill scream echoing around them. But it wasn't Lydia. It was Jessie.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allison quickly knocked another arrow into her bow, trying to aim for the Oni about to strike Isaac with the deadly blow. Jessie blurred over to the Oni, grabbing his arm, but only able to hold his hand steady, "Allison, now!"
> 
> Allison let the arrow fly, hitting the Oni square in the chest. The wound glowed and bright yellow green color as the Oni dropped its weapon in shock. He grasped at the arrow, but it was too late. The Oni shattered into a million pieces, and the ground around them shook like an earthquake.
> 
> Allison had never felt prouder to help her protect her friends, when a sudden realization hit her. One so important, it may mean the end of this whole fight. But before the moment could pass, she felt the sharp pain of a sword slicing its way through her body.
> 
> Allison hadn't even fallen to the ground yet when Scott got there, "Allison!" running forward and catching her in his arms. Everyone was helpless to watch. Ed tried to attack one of the Oni holding Jessie, but they quickly sliced the sword just a bit into the skin of her neck.
> 
> "No, mate, they can decapitate her, and she can't heal from that," Connor warned.
> 
> Scott reached for Allison's hand, trying to use his powers to take away her pain, but nothing happened. "I can't... I can't take your pain."
> 
> "It's because it doesn't hurt," she whispered, peering up at him.
> 
> Scott cried, "No."
> 
> "It's okay. It's okay," she cooed up at him, choking up. "It's perfect. I'm in the arms of my first love. The first person I ever loved. The person I'll always love. I love you." She reached up to his face with one of her hands, "Scott. Scott McCall." She gasped out, "You have to tell my dad... you have to... you have to tell him. Tell him..." but before she could finish her message, her face went blank and slack and her eyes unfocused.
> 
> Jessie rushed over to Scott and Allison, roughly biting into her wrist until it was dripping blood. She pinched Allison's cheeks together and pressed her open wrist over her mouth, letting the blood drip onto her tongue. "Allison, you have to drink it. Come on. Come on!"
> 
> Scott looked up at her hopelessly, "Why won't it work?"
> 
> Jessie pulled her now-healed wrist to her chest, falling back onto her knees, resting her but on her heels. "It doesn't work if they're already dead."
> 
> Chris Argent ran into the camp, guns blazing, but halted abruptly when he saw his daughter laying limp in her ex-boyfriend's arms. He felt a cold shock go through him, not wanting to believe any of this was happening.
> 
> Jessie stared at Allison's unmoving face and body for a moment, before she blurred away. One moment she was there, the next – gone.
> 
> "Where-" Scott started to ask but was cut off when they all heard a shrill scream echoing around them. But it wasn't Lydia. It was Jessie.

Scott was barely aware of being gathered onto the couch with Lydia and Isaac – the chosen witnesses to a horrific crime. The Sheriff and Deputy Parrish were speaking to him, but he was flashing back to Allison's face as she stared up at him with love in her last moments. He flashed back to Chris coaching him on what to tell the police as he held onto some nearby bars for support in his grief.

"Scott, look at me. Look at me," Chris had goaded him. "Scott, look at me."

Scott had still breathing roughly in disbelief as Chris kept instructing him once he finally looked over at the older man.

"You have to remember. You called me first, okay?" he had emphasized nearly every word he said.

Scott was only able to numbly nod.

"Say it," Chris had ordered him in a clear and strict voice. "You called me first."

Scott panted, "I called you..."

"Not  _you_ ," he had corrected him with such ferocity. "Say Mr. Argent or her dad."

"I called her dad first," Scott had repeated him.

"What else? What happened?"

"There were two of them," Scott had panted. "They tried to steal our car. They wore masks. One of them had a knife."

"You  _think_ ," Chris had to cut in. "Don't get specific, Scott. You saw something sharp and metallic. You  _think_  it was a knife. What do you say next? If you get confused, what do you always repeat?"

Scott had shut his eyes so tightly, bright stars erupted under his eyelids and whispered, "It happened so fast."

"That's right," Chris had finally encouraged him. "Say it again. Scott! Say it again."

Scott had looked over and stared at the man in disbelief, "How are you doing this?"

Chris had to take a long gulp to keep his composure, "It's what we do. It's what we do."

Back at the station, Lydia was getting questioned by Parrish. "Lydia, do you remember anything else?"

Lydia stared numbly at the ground as she muttered, "It happened so fast," and remembered the immediate aftermath.

After she and Georgie had composed themselves in the narrow corridor, they dragged the barely awake Stiles back into the camp courtyard. Lydia had seen Chris and some red-haired man cradling and carrying away her best friend's dead body. The sight had sent her into a fit of screams and cries and wails. Georgie had a hard time keeping hold of her and Stiles, so Kira and her mother had run over to console her while Scott took the limp Stiles from Georgie.

"You all need to go," Connor had rushed over to them, speaking mostly to Kira and her mother. "We need only a few witnesses. We can't explain why so many of us were here."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lydia had wheezed in disbelief. "Allison is dead! And you're talking about a plan!?"

"Calm down, lass," Connor had calmly placated her. "I'm not trying to diminish the loss of your friend-"

" _Best_  friend," she had snapped, correcting him.

He had looked at her heartbroken anger and sighed, "I've been in this game a long time, Lydia. I've had to learn how to prioritize so that we can keep fighting, so things like this don't happen again."

Back at the station, she could admit to herself that he was right of course. He was right to take charge so that all this part could be over with – the explanation, the story. So, they could move on and keep trying to kill the Nogitsune.

Isaac was the last to be questioned, with the Sheriff sitting in as his temporary guardian while Parrish asked him, "Can you remember anything else, Isaac?"

He just muttered, "It just happened so fast," as he remembered crawling over to Nuala on the cold ground. He had been able to feel himself healing, but he was still in pain, pushing himself up on his hands and knees to her supine body. She hadn't even been crying, or moving much, but the moment his hand had touched her bare arm, his powers kicked in and black veins shot up his arm, taking away some of the unbearable pain she had been in.

Her sister had raced over and turned her over on her stomach to see the deep wound across her upper back, cursing, "Fucking, dammit. You're gonna need a hell of a lot of stitches."

"No hospital," Nuala had muttered through gritted teeth.

"Nuala, you have to go to a doctor," Isaac had protested. "You're still losing blood-"

"No, she's right," Dechtire had told him. "The minute her name shows up in hospital records, we either have to disappear or she goes to prison."

"Prison?" Isaac gasped. "For – for what?"

"Three months ago, a shapeshifter copied her face and went on a serial killing spree," Dechtire answered him blankly. "Now, let's go." She had lifted her sister up to her feet by herself and led her to her car.

* * *

As Scott was exiting the station after saying goodbye to the Sheriff, Connor ran up to him, "Mate, I need your help."

"What is it?" Scott asked eagerly. "Is it Jessie? Did you find her?"

"Yes and no," Connor answered reluctantly. "Remember what I told you happened to her after Alex died?"

He nodded, "Is it happening again?"

"Worse," Connnor muttered. "She's deep in the woods, we can't keep up with her. She's already tried to bite three of us."

"Who is 'us'?" Lydia croaked, appearing behind them.

Connor sighed, "Other people like me. Like Gavin. My mum. So on. As soon as Jessie disappeared, I made a call. They went to track her, but... she's smart and unstable and grieving. Scott, we need you to find her and bring her back."

"What can I do that you didn't do before?" he asked. "You fixed her last time she got like this."

Connor shook his head, "No, we put her back into her emotionless state. And it took days, mate. That's the kind of time we don't have, and we don't want her going back to her robotic self, do we? No, we want her back to herself, the real Jessie. Because only that Jessie can help us stop the evil bastard that already killed one of our own."

"So, what can Scott do that you can't?" Lydia asked.

"We know what Alphas can do," he explained. "How they can get into minds, extract memories. We know you used it to split Stiles from the Nogitsune. We need you to find her like only another supernatural can and get into her head, pull the read Jessie out like you did with Stiles."

Scott was conflicted, wanting to tear the Nogitsune limb from limb and also save Jessie.

"Scott?" he heard Lydia's voice behind him. He turned to her, seeing concentration on her face, "You didn't hear this, but right before you guys sacrificed yourselves to the Nemeton to find your parents, Deaton was the one who told Jessie to go with you instead of him. Because you two share a powerful bond."

_Deaton gently pulled Jessie off to the side to speak to her quietly, "You should go with Scott."_

_She seemed shocked, "Are you sure? I mean, you've been like a father to Scott. That seems like a pretty strong emotional tether."_

_"You may not feel the full power of it yet," he told her, "but you and Scott have a deep connection that will last for the rest of your lives, more powerful than any obstacle either of you will face, and only make you both more powerful than any enemy can handle. I am sure."_

_Jessie nodded, floored by the seriousness of the new information, "Okay."_

"Scott, if anyone can pull Jessie out of this and get the real her back," Lydia spoke with conviction, "it's you. And you need to. We need her with us now. We can't lose her too."

Scott went up to her to hug her, promising, "Okay, I will get her back."

* * *

Noshiko finished readying the tea before pouring a cup for Stiles, placing it on the coffee table in front of him. Georgie was huddled next to him, keeping a firm hand wrapped around his arm. Noshiko gently gestured to the cup, "Here, it'll calm you."

"What is it?" he asked, voice weak.

"Tea," she said simply.

"What? Like magic tea?" he asked as he picked up the mug.

"No, chamomile tea," she quipped. "Drink it."

"He's not safe here," Kira's father told them.

"He's not safe anywhere," Georgie pointed out. "We have no special shelter for Japanese trickster spirits that kill our friends."

"But Allison killed one of them," Kira stressed. "Doesn't that mean something? She killed an Oni."

"Is that even possible?" Ken asked his wife.

She looked just as clueless to this phenomenon, "I'm not sure how."

"But she did it," Kira said. "She killed one of them."

"Yeah, and then they killed her," Stiles muttered. "Allison's dead... Now, I guess the only good thing is it looks like I'm dying, too."

"No, don't talk like that," Georgie told her boyfriend. "I don't want to hear you talking like that. You're not going to die."

"Georgie, I gotta be realistic," he told her, looking at her with a mixture of emotions. "I feel like I am."

"He made a powerful move by splitting the two of you," Noshiko spoke.

"What now?" Georgie asked, still looking right into Stiles' eyes.

"At this point, you need a divine move," Ken said.

"What's that?" Kira asked.

"In the game of Go," Noshiko explained, "it's what we call a truly inspired, or out-of-the-box move. The Nogitsune has had sente, the advantage, until this point. What you need is a divine move in order to turn the game around."

"Okay, so is anyone feeling divinely inspired?" Stiles quipped.

"Mom, you said you trapped it in a glass jar, right?" Kira confirmed with her mother.

"It wasn't the jar that trapped it," Noshiko told her. "It was where I buried it."

"The Nemeton," Stiles realized.

"A place I don't know too much about," Noshiko admitted.

"My sister knows everything about it," Georgie muttered. "She was its guardian –  _is_. But she's not here to help us with that."

"What? Why not?" Stiles asked, looking back at her.

She sighed, "Okay, well, when I got home after what happened at Eichen House, the place was trashed, and my sister was gone. The Witches Council took her."

"What?" Stiles exclaimed. "How did this happen? How do we get her back?"

"I don't know," she answered helplessly. "Deaton is making a plan, but I had to save you first."

"Deaton may be the person we need for this too," he said.

* * *

Scott took a quick break by a tree, panting as he'd been racing through the woods for a half hour. Lydia had come with him, determined to help rescue at least one of her best friends, and keep her mind off of Allison. Connor and Gavin were right behind them with flashlights and staffs. They wanted to be able to hold off an unstable and possibly homicidal Jessie if they needed to, without hurting her.

"Did you lose her?" Lydia asked, coming up behind him.

His ears perked when he heard sobbing, and knew it was her. "She's this way," he said before taking off after the sounds until he came upon a small clearing in the trees.

She was there, in the center of the clearing, cradling her arms around her knees and laying on her side, sobbing into the dirt. Scott gestured for the others to stay back, taking slow steps to approached her, "Jessie?"

She started, getting up on her knees and whisper-shouting at him through fangs he'd never seen on her before, "Get out of here. Scott, I don't want to hurt you. But I will."

"No, you won't," he told her, kneeling in front of her.

She growled at him, lurching forward and trying to clamp her fangs into his shoulder but he was stronger than her in this state. He held her back onto the ground as she writhed and growled and tried to attack him. He looked back at the others with him, "Help keep her still, so I can do it!"

Connor and Gavin readily stepped forward with their staffs and helped Scott turn her, so she was sitting up with her back to him. Connor was able to hold Jessie's neck still, shouting as she screamed and fought, "Now, Scott, do it now!"

Scott took a deep breath and let his Alpha power spark through him, his eyes glowing red, and pushed his claws into the skin of her neck. He jolted with a gasp as he felt the now familiar sensation of being pulled into someone else's subconscious.

When he opened his eyes, it was light out and he was outside, in a neighborhood of Beacon Hills. Or at least, it looked like any other neighborhood in Beacon Hills. He looked around, it looked peaceful. Birds were chirping. People were out mowing their lawns. Kids were playing, riding their bikes in the street. It looked like a verified utopia. Somehow, Scott was compelled to turn around, facing a big two-story house, painted a soft beige color, with parts built up out of old red bricks. Green ivy was crawling up the sides of it, curling around the front railings and posts of the large wraparound porch.

The red painted door opened up and he saw a young woman, with long dark brown hair flowing around her elbows. She smiled softly at him and gestured for him to come into the house. He slowly opened the white picket fence lining along the sidewalk, walking down the long cobblestone walkway in the large grass front yard.

"Who are you?" he asked, feeling like he should know who this girl was. She looked his age.

"I'm Tanya, Jessica's birth mother," the girl smiled brightly as a boy came around to wrap an arm around her waist. She put her hand on his chest, "And this is Wesley, her father."

"We're very grateful for what you've done to protect our daughter," Wesley shook his hand.

"I'm confused," Scott admitted sheepishly. "It wasn't like this in Stiles' head."

"Because his mind was warped by the Nogitsune," Wesley explained. "It's a little more straight forward here."

"This is the kind of house Jessie dreams of living in one day," Tanya said. "With a family of her own. Safe. A peaceful life. That's why we're in this room." She led him into the dining room, where he saw Jessie's adoptive family – Paula, Hunter, Beth, Baako – sitting around the table, eating and laughing together. Hunter didn't look hurt anymore. Baako was alive. They were all safe and happy.

"So, what room will I find the real Jessie in?" he asked.

"We don't know," Wesley answered him. "Just start knocking on doors. Find her."

Scott nodded heavily and walked up the stairs. When he finally got to the top, it looked like his work was cut out for him. The hallway was long, with many doors lining each side of it. He started with the first one he saw, it was good a place as any to start. He didn't know if he should knock or something, he didn't know the rules. Eventually, he chose to simply open the door.

When he walked passed the threshold, he wasn't in any kind of room. He was at the Beacon Hills cemetery, right in front of Tanya and Wesley's mausoleum. He looked around for a bit, "Hello?"

"Hey, Scott."

Scott was startled at the sound of Isaac's voice, spinning around to see him leaning against the side of the mausoleum. "Isaac? What are you doing here?"

"This is my space in Jessie's subconscious," Isaac held out his hands as if to say 'ta-da.' "This is where we met. So, this is where all memories with me are. What are you looking for?"

"Jessie," Scott said. "Do you know where she is?"

Isaac shrugged, "I'm just a manifestation of her feelings for me. Past feelings, in my case."

"In your case?" Scott asked.

Isaac gave him a look, tilting his head, as if he were in on a secret, "Come on, this is Jessie's head. I know what she knows, at least when it comes to me. And I know she no longer loves me. She loves somebody else. Or she will, once she finally lets the real her out."

Scott looked around, "We don't have time for this. How do I get back to the hallway? I need to find her."

Isaac pushed himself off the wall and reached over to the mausoleum doors, yanking one of them open. He gestured for Scott to walk through, "Right this way."

Scott hesitantly did as told, walking through the mausoleum door and ending up back in the long hallway. He inwardly cursed to himself, knowing that it would take a long time to check all the doors. But it was important, nearly imperative, to get Jessie back.

He pushed himself through the next door, nearly tripping into another set of woods, only this time in the day time. "Who's here!?"

"Hello, Scott," a Scottish voice greeted him. He turned around to see Alex grinning, strapped up with hunting weapons and pack on his back. Alex waved at him with a happy grin, "Welcome to the wonders of Portland, mate. Beautiful, isn't it?"

Scott looked around at the trees, squinting in the light, "Is this where you died?"

Alex tapped his nose and pointed to him, "Bingo, Scotty. It was pretty gruesome. Scarred Jessie for life. But I'd do it all again, as long as she was safe. Now, it's your turn to keep her safe."

"That's what I'm trying to do," Scott pointed out. "I have to find her."

"Right you do," Alex agreed. "So, go on."

Scott looked around, seeing no doorway to walk through. "How? How do I get back?"

Alex rolled his eyes and said, "Just think, mate. You're in a brain, use yours."

Scott took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was back in that damned hallway. There were at least a dozen doors around him, just the ones he could see. He couldn't possibly search every single one. He needed to find the right one.

About five doors down the hall, there was a door larger than most of the others, with about three deadbolts on it. Jessie's subconscious obviously didn't want that door opened. As he approached it, the closer he got, the more the house started to shake around him like an earthquake. He almost lost his footing, but he held himself against the walls and made his way to the door. The doorknob nearly burned under his touch, but he pushed through the pain and used his supernatural strength to push against the door with all the power he had within him.

He fell right onto his face when the door finally gave way, hitting his nose on tiled floor. He looked around, confused to see that he was in the vet's office where he worked. Was he going to bump into Deaton's manifestation in Jessie's subconscious? Or was this where Jessie was hiding since she worked there too? He got up onto his feet and brushed himself off, calling out, "Jessie?"

"No, but good try," a too familiar voice answered him.

Scott's eyes widened considerably in shock when he saw himself walk out to the front room with a small smile on his face. "What the Hell?"

The other Scott laughed, "Don't you know how it works by now? There's a room for everyone, Scott."

"But why am I behind a triple bolted door?" Scott asked incredulously.

The other Scott shrugged casually, "Isn't it obvious? She doesn't want to admit to what's behind this door. To me," he gestured to himself. "She doesn't want to admit her feelings for you, Scott. It's easier to hide from them and save her to pain of getting her heartbroken. Or worse, losing us."

"That would never happen," Scott protested.

"We all know that," the other Scott pointed between the two of them. "Because you love her too."

Scott tried to deny it, but he couldn't, "How...?"

The other Scott laughed, "You melded your subconscious with Jessie's. So, just like I know what she knows, I know what you know, too. You know?"

Scott numbly shook his head as if to clear it, "I'm still a bit confused. But yeah, I think I know. But... Jessie and I... it's impossible. She can't feel the same-"

"I think I'd know if she did or not," the other Scott cut him off. "Just think on it, Scott. Remember all the times between us and her, how special the bond between us is." He stepped forward and lifted his own claws. "Or, I can just show you."

Before Scott protest, the other Scott stuck his claws into the base of his neck and he was being pulled into something very different.

They were still in the vet's office, but it felt very off somehow, overly familiar. The other Scott pulled him off to the side, whispering, "Watch. This is where you and Jessie first met. It's why the vet's office is my room."

Scott was voiceless as the doorbell dinged and Jessie walked in, looking just the same way she did the first day he ever saw her, when she came looking for a job.

"Hello?" she called out.

"Just a minute!" Scott nearly fell over in shock when he saw a younger version of himself, with his longer floppy hair, walking out to meet her. "Can I help you?"

The other Scott, the one taking him through this memory journey, whispered, "You two ended up facing a blood thirsty Alpha together – Peter, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Scott hissed back quietly, even if he didn't have to be quiet.

"Then you remember always being the first person to be there for her when she needed someone," the other Scott pointed out.

The scene changed around them to a parking lot outside the ice rink, in the middle of the night. He saw Jessie's car and walked closer. Other Scott pointed at the car, where he could see himself and Jessie sitting in front. "Like when she broke up with Isaac for the first time."

They walked closer to the car, Scott leaning down to peer into the driver's side window. The window was cracked enough that he could hear her sobbing as she tried to put her key in the ignition, but her had was shaking too badly. He watched himself take the keys away from her and put them down in the cup holder. He then wrapped his arms around her and held her while she cried, "I'm so sorry—it'll be okay. It'll be okay."

"Or like when Matt was holding her hostage at gunpoint," Other Scott narrated as the world around them melted into the Sheriff's station.

Matt was ranting about his rhyme and reason, waving his gun in their faces. And Scott saw himself holding Jessie's hand in comfort.

"You're there for her whenever she doubts herself," Other Scott said as they ended up following Jessie as she was sitting outside the vets office in her car, on the phone with him.

He could hear his own voice in the phone, as if he were listening directly, "Jessie, what's wrong?"

She was in tears, "I felt Jackson get shot. I felt him dying. And I knew he'd stay human and die if I didn't do something. So, I told him—somehow—to do whatever it takes to live and heal. And I've got an awful feeling that he'll be turning into something worse because of it."

"Whatever happens, it's not your fault, Jessie," he heard himself tell her. "Okay? I don't want to hear you blaming yourself for whatever might happen to Jackson just because you saved his life. You're a good person."

The next place they ended up in was the lacrosse field, where Scott was about to help Stiles' train for the next season to make first string. Scott and other Scott were standing off by a nearby tree. He saw Jessie sitting on the jeep, upset. And he was there to comfort her.

"Jessie, what's up?" he said, coming to stand next to her seat.

She sighed, "It's just... everything that's happened—I'm not the same anymore."

"None of us are," Stiles was there to, to offer his wisdom.

"Yeah, I guess," Jessie said quietly. "It's just... I'm not sure I like who I am now."

"What are you talking about?" Scott took one of her hands in his.

"Holding a gun on people—Matt, Matthias. Threatening the Argents and all the fighting. When I was holding that gun on Matt, a little part of me thought that if I just pulled the trigger, then it would just be over. That if he wasn't around anymore, it would be okay. And it would be so easy—to just pull the trigger," she paused, swallowing. "And I wanted to."

"That doesn't make you a bad person," Scott told her, squeezing her hand. "The point is that you didn't shoot him. You didn't kill him because you're not a murderer. And anything you've ever done has been done to protect us or your family. You're not a monster."

"What if I am?" she asked, tears lodging in her throat. "What if I find out that I'm half-monster and I let it loose? What if I'm slowly losing control of myself and I start hurting people?"

"Hey, look at me," Scott commanded softly, holding her face with his other hand. "You're not some monster, Jessie. You're one of the bravest most self-sacrificing person I've ever known. And the last person who will become a monster. You hear me?"

A tear fell from her eye as she nodded to him, "Yeah..."

"Good," he smiled, kissing her cheek.

"That doesn't prove anything," the real Scott still tried to deny. "She's my best friend."

Other Scott laughed, "Scott, you can't be this naive. You two share every part of your lives together. You laugh together."

They ended up in the school hallway, seeing himself and Jessie walking off from Jennifer Blake.

"I promise it won't be ephemeral," Scott grinned before taking Jessie's arm to lead her out of the school.

She snickered, "Is that your word of the day?"

"Shut up," he smiled at her.

"You support each other."

Scott blanched when he saw himself covered in gasoline, holding the spark in his hands as his friends surrounded him. He looked so hopeless.

Jessie was approaching him slowly with Stiles, stepping into the puddle of gasoline with him, "We're in this together. From beginning—to end."

Stiles got a hold the top of the flare, yanking it from his hand and flinging it away from them onto a dry piece of pavement. Scott gasped, panting in fright of what he was about to do. Scott could see the relief on all of their – including his – faces. Jessie flung her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her back, holding him to her tightly. Stiles joined in, wrapping his arms around both of them, just happy they were all okay.

"You comfort each other."

In the bus, on their way back to Beacon Hills, Jessie peered at Scott in concern, "If Derek really is... dead—it's not your fault."

Scott sighed, "...maybe..."

"Not maybe," Jessie told him. "Actually. Scott—there isn't anything else we could've done that we didn't. We warned him. They were too close to the edge. It wasn't our fault. It wasn't."

"Thank you, Jessie," Scott whispered, leaning over to kiss her forehead where her scar was.

With barely a cliché flash of bright light, they were in Jessie's room, where Jessie was sitting with him on her bed, narrowing her eyes playfully at him after he gave her a speech about staying strong for things to get better, "You're very optimistic lately. What's the deal?"

He shrugged with his crooked smile, "It doesn't hurt."

She half-smiled at him, "Thanks, Scott."

He leaned forward to kiss her forehead right on the scar she had gotten from Allison's arrow when everything had just begun for them, "You don't have to thank me for being your friend, Jessie. I'll always be your friend."

"You're the first one she told when she discovered she was a vampire. It's your first instinct to protect her."

They were in the school parking lot, the moment before a flock of birds were about to attack him and Jessie. "Get down!" Scott shouted just as some of the birds slammed into the car in front of the two of them and slammed into them. He gathered Jessie into his arms and crouched down on the ground behind the nearest car. They could hear the birds' bodies slam into the metal side of the car and crashed into the windows. Glass shattered above us as Scott covered Jessie's body with his.

"Just as it's her first instinct to protect you."

They were inside the school, with Allison, Derek, Lydia and Stiles just after discussing the matching bruises on Lydia and Allison's wrists. Scott and Jessie were just off from the rest of the group. Jessie looked upset as she looked at him, "I can't forgive her, Scott."

"You forgave Alex and Emily," Scott pointed out exasperatedly.

"They actually apologized," she hissed. "They didn't kidnap and torture my brother, they didn't stab my boyfriend ten times and they didn't break my best friend's heart and then just run away!"

Scott softened, sighing, "You don't have to protect me."

"Yes, I do," she whispered. "I do. You're my best friend, Scott, I love you. And being around her hurts you."

Scott took my shoulders in his hands, "I'm okay, Jessie. I'm gonna be okay," he brought her closer to hug her.

"Deaton paired her with you when you sacrificed yourself to the Nemton, because he trusted your connection with her so much, he would bet your life on it... And when she died, you blamed yourself, even when she never did. She died for you."

To his horror, they went next to the abandoned distillery, just as Scott and Derek were rushing to Jessie as she sat against the back wall, looking dirty and weak and pail. He saw himself kneeling over her and brushed her hair back, "Jessie, wake up!"

She blinked her eyes opened tiredly, "I'm sorry, Scott. I'm so sorry."

"What happened—you weren't that hurt, were you?" he asked frantically, looking for any wounds.

She sluggishly pulled her jacket away from where she held it over her abdomen, revealing a thick piece of wood from the crate sticking out from her chest where it stabbed through her. "If I told you sooner... you wouldn't have beaten her. Would've been distracted."

The next moment, the scene in the school melted away and they were in the vet's office again, in the front room. Scott looked around, "What memory is this?"

Other Scott gave him a solemn look, "I think you know."

Scott slowly gulped, instinctively knowing, and slowly walking to the back room where her body had been laid out on a table. This time, she was there alone, just as she had been that night. Her chest fell rapidly up and down, breaths wheezing out of her mouth painfully. Her eyelids were falling down but her eyes fell on him, looking unfocused, "...Scott..."

He was startled when she looked right at him. This memory was different. He wasn't watching himself in third person but reliving it himself. "Jessie... why the hell did you stay? Why did you tell us?"

She swallowed loudly, "If I did... you wouldn't have let me—help."

"But you'd be alive..." he said. "I wouldn't care if you left us behind if it meant you'd live. What are we supposed to do now?"

"Keep going," she whispered. "Don't worry about me anymore. You have so much on your shoulders that you forget that you have a life to live."

"Why?" he asked. "Everything I do, every time I try to help, people keep getting killed. It got your dad in a coma, it got your brother killed, almost killed our parents, now I've gotten you killed."

"I knew exactly what I was doing, Scott," she assured him softly. "And I don't regret a thing. I don't. I've been so tired of fighting for months... I'm not tired anymore..."

Her body faded away from view and Scott turned to face the manifestation of himself, "Okay, I admit it. You're right. But what does any of this have to do with how I get the real Jessie out of here?"

Other Scott patiently leaned back against the wall, "You use the bond you have with her. She knows that you two love each other, otherwise I wouldn't be so locked away in here. But we're passed that now. You need to get her out of here. Just talk to her, get through to her, the way only you can."

Scott nodded slowly, determined, and walked away from his other self, exiting out the door of the vet's office and getting back into the hallway. Now, more driven than ever, he walked right to a door he could finally recognize. One that looked just like the door in her house to her room. He walked right up to it and barreled through it, happening upon a place he hoped he'd never have to return to.

He was back in that abandoned distillery where they fought Jennifer and Deucalion – where Jennifer killed Jessie. He saw her, he finally found her, huddled in a ball against the wall in the very back. He breathed out her name and ran to her, falling to his knees in front of her, "Jessie, look at me."

She looked up at him, tear stained face and all, confused, "Scott? What are you doing here?"

"I came for you," he told her. "I came to bring you back with me. You can't keep going on just a fraction of who you are."

"I'm dangerous," she hissed at him. "I can't be trusted around you guys yet."

"You're not going to hurt any of us, Jessie, I know you're not," he urged her. "I know it was awful to see Alex die. I know it was awful to watch Allison die. But you can't crawl back into this hole, Jessie."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "You think that's why I'm down here? Because they died?"

He was confused, "I don't understand."

She whimpered deep in her throat, "After Alex died, he was just there bleeding on the ground. I was screaming my head off for help, but they were too late. I heard his heart stop beating, and all my emotions came raining down on me all at once. I was such a mess, and suddenly I felt everything. The blood lust, the craving, all of it. And I bit him, Scott. I bit into Alex's neck and started sucking his blood. It took Connor, my cousin and his supernaturally strong friend to pull me off. I was drowning in the blood of a man who loved me so much he died for me. I'm a monster."

She was sobbing heavily as Scott cupped her face and wiped away her tears, "That's not true. You're not a monster, Jessie."

"Yes, I am," she cried. "That's why I ran away after Allison..." She couldn't say the word  _died._  "My emotions were coming back, and I didn't want to lose control with her blood."

"I know why you think you're a monster, Jessie," he whispered to her. "I get it. It's the same way I felt about myself when I was new to being a werewolf, when I had no control over myself. But you know what? You and Stiles helped me get control. You're the one who first told me what an anchor was and how to use it. I know you told me you didn't have an anchor anymore, but come on, of course you do."

She shook her head, "No, I don't. I broke up with Isaac. I left you all behind."

"That doesn't matter," Scott swore to her. "None of that matters. Isaac still cares about you so much. So does Lydia, and Stiles, and Georgie, your family, Derek, my mom, even Peter. And Peter doesn't like anyone. And no one likes him." He beamed when that got a slight laugh from her. He shifted closer to her, pushing her knees aside so that he could hold her. "You are the most bewitching person. You get everyone around you to soften up and just care about you. Any one of us would die for you, just like you died for all of us."

"What if I lose control?" she asked. "I already tried to bite you."

"I'm gonna help you," he promised. "Just like you helped me. I will be with you every step of the way. But we need you back, Jessie. Stiles needs you...  _I_  need you."

"If I stay down here, I'll still be able to help," she murmured, grasping at straws of excuses.

"No, it's not gonna work anymore," he protested. "I need the real Jessie back."

"Why, Scott?" she asked, raising her voice. "Why do you need me back so badly?"

"Because I love you," he whispered. There was something exuberantly freeing about finally admitting it to her. Not to his vision of her. Not to the emotionless version of her. To the real her. "I love you and I need you back. You have all of us here for you to be your anchors. Take your pick."

"I don't know what to say to that," she muttered, looking at him in awe.

"I know you feel the same," he told her, confident for once.

She flushed in embarrassment, "How could you possibly know that?"

"Because you told me," he smirked, thinking about his journey through her mind. "Now, let's get out of here, okay?"

She nodded through her tears, smiling now, "Thank you, Scott."

"You don't have to thank me for loving you," he pressed his forehead to hers, "I'm always going to love you." The area around them started to quake, a bright light starting to envelop them. Just as it consumed them, Scott leaned down to press his lips to hers.

The next moment, he felt himself falling onto his back, back in the woods where he'd found her with Connor, Gavin and Lydia. Lydia was crouching in front of him, on her knees, "Scott? Scott, are you okay?"

He groaned as she helped him sit up, "Yeah, fine. Did it work?"

She helped him to his feet and he looked over to see Connor helped Jessie to her feet. She groaned, holding the back of her neck, and froze when she caught sight of him. He took her in – she looked disheveled and tired, but she looked like her. Her eyes that were taking him in, slowly faded from their bright glowing blue to her original brown color. She had found a new anchor. "Scott? Was that really you?"

He smiled and nodded and readily caught her when she lept over to him with blurring speed, wrapping her arms around him. "I got you," he murmured as he hugged her. "I got you."

"Thank you," she gasped, emotional. "I missed you. I missed you so much, Scott."

"I know," he pressed his face into her neck. "I missed you too."

"Scott?" he heard her small voice squeak into his neck before she pulled her face back to look at him, looking utterly lost and sad.

"What?" he asked with rushed concern, wondering what was wrong now.

"I'm really sorry I died on your birthday," she told him, a tear falling down her cheek.

He actually sighed in relief, laughing a little at her words, "Don't worry about it. You can make it up to me on my next one."


	21. Divine Move

This had to be one of the hardest situations this supernatural world had gotten the Sheriff wrapped up in so far. Alec sighed heavily in his office, thinking of the poor girl who had lost her life to this supernatural fight they all – including his son – got wrapped up in. He'd be damned if he let that happen to any more of them. He walked out to his Deputy's desk, "We need to try and keep this quiet for as long as we can. Once the press finds out about this, they're gonna be all over those kids."

Parrish nodded dutifully, "You want a squad car outside your house?"

He sighed and nodded, "Yeah, might be a good idea tonight."

Parrish was about to get right on it when he noticed something dark moving behind his boss, the lights above them flickering. The Sheriff turned around to see what he was looking at and saw one of the Oni forming. The cops immediately acted, pulling their guns and taking shots, but the bullets just glanced off it as it swiped its sword across another deputy's gut.

The Sheriff grabbed his rifle and cocked it, taking a shot and watching the Oni disappear in smoke.

* * *

Marissa huffed as she finished brushing her teeth after another bout of morning sickness. She slightly stumbled out of the bathroom and down the spiral staircase of her and Derek's loft, hearing one of the twin's shouting in pain. She flinched when she saw Derek burning his bullet wound with his lighter. He pulled the flame away, "Should be find in a couple of hours."

"I really should study up on werewolf medical training," she quipped as she walked over to them, holding her stomach instinctively.

Derek looked over at her with concern, "How are you feeling?"

"We're both fine," she assured him.

Seeing his brother was taken care of, Aidan went to leave, "Lydia's with Scott. We need to go."

"Are you gonna try to convince her to go with you?" Derek asked him, knowing it would never happen.

"I'm gonna try and convince her to run and hide," Aidan exclaimed. "Like any sane person would do."

Derek gave Ethan a look, "And Danny?"

Ethan nodded like it was obvious, "Allison's dead. Stiles is dying. What do you think?"

"I think Danny won't believe you," Derek told him. "And Lydia would never run and hide."

"Because of Stiles?" Aidan growled.

"Because of Scott," Derek corrected harshly. "You've been trying to find a way into his pack. Trying to earn his trust, trying to fight for him. You've had it wrong the whole time. You don't fight for a leader. You fight for a leader's cause."

"What cause?" Aidan spat.

"Scott's always been about one thing," he told them. "Saving his friends. He will do anything and everything to save the people he cares about. When there's no chance of winning, he keeps fighting. When all hope is lost, he finds another way. And when he's beaten down, he stands up again. You want to earn a place in his pack? You want redemption? Find another way to stand and fight."

* * *

Scott, Lydia and Jessie rushed into the vet's office to consult with Deaton about the Nemeton and possibly using it to trap the Nogitsune. Scott said, "Stiles and Kira said it was the Nemeton that kept it trapped."

"The problem is this isn't even a person you're fighting," Deaton explained to them, worried. "It just looks like one. It's a spirit that's taken the shape of a human."

"The shape of my best friend," Scott pointed out.

"Someone caught it once," Lydia pointed out. "Someone can do it again, right?"

"Noshiko trapped the Nogitsune in the Nemeton when it was at full power, whole," Jessie told them.

"Right," Deaton agreed. "It doesn't have the same power anymore."

"Is there anything that does?" Scott asked.

Deaton mused, "Possibly. When the tree was whole, its wood was sometimes used to contain powerful objects. But those objects are very rare."

Scott and Jessie sagged but Lydia perked up, "Wait a second. Powerful objects? Like an Alpha's claws?"

"Which Alpha?" Deaton asked.

"Talia Hale," she whispered. "Peter had them in this wooden box with the triskele carved on the lid. What if it was made from the Nemeton?"

Deaton flinched, and nodded slowly, "It was."

"How do you know?" Scott asked his boss.

"Because I made it," he admitted.

* * *

Melissa could not believe what she was hearing from her ex-husband as they walked down the hospital hallway, "So, I tell Scott that his dad went back to San Francisco, says he's sorry, but he didn't have time to say goodbye?"

Rafael nodded, "Right. Then I'll send a follow-up email or something."

She gave him a look, "You're an idiot."

"What's wrong with that?" he asked, not getting the big problem.

She gave him an even more incredulous look, "Seriously?" as they walked into the elevator. "Raf, you say that you want a relationship with your son. You can't just bail after one fight."

Rafael sighed as the doors closed, "He hates me."

Melissa groaned, frustrated, "He doesn't hate you. He just wants you to try harder."

The elevator stuttered, and lights flickered. Rafael looked up at them, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Melissa answered as the doors opened with a ding, revealing the whole floor of hospital personnel being brutally picked off by the Oni with their swords.

Rafael shouted, "Get back!" pushing her behind him, but not before one of their swords swiped and cut her on the top of her thigh as she fell to the ground. Rafael fired off some shots to push them back while he hit the button, so the doors would close. He thought they were safe, until he looked back to see her clutching her bleeding leg.

* * *

Dechtire felt foolish knocking on Argent's door, but her sister besides her was insistent. Chris answered the door, confused when he saw the two girls that he'd never spoken to before and Isaac behind them. "Isaac. You're the other hunters. What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you," Nuala answered, still flinching slightly at the pain in her back.

"You don't seem to be in the shape to be on your feet," he answered. "You didn't have to come here. In this business, we're trained to compartmentalize."

"That's what I said," Dechtire quipped.

"Good for you," Nuala drawled. "But you just lost your daughter. So, just let us in. We're all in this together." Taking his silence as permission, she walked into the apartment, pulling on Isaac's hand so he'd follow, forcing Dechtire to cave and walk in with them.

Chris sighed and dragged his hand down his face before offering them something to drink.

"Maybe coffee would do us some good," Dechtire murmured. "I'll make it."

Chris was going to protest and insist that he make it for them but remembered that he didn't really know how to make good coffee. Victoria made home brewed tea when she was alive. And after living in France and moving back, Allison made coffee every morning before she left for school. So, he just sort of numbly stood around in the kitchen while Dechtire prepared mugs of coffee for each of them, thanking her quietly when she handed him one.

"She wasn't in pain," Nuala broke the solemn silence. "She was brave the whole time."

Dechtire gave her a warning look but Nuala didn't believe in the hunter's code of compartmentalizing everything, pushing away the pain and dealing with it never.

"She was trying to say something, to Scott," she said. "She said, 'You have to tell my dad..' She didn't get to finish, but it was probably just that she loved you."

Chris looked down at the counter, nodding, "It's okay. She made a point of telling me earlier."

"Earlier?" Isaac asked.

"There's a tradition we have," he explained. "When hunters learn everything there is to learn, they force a silver bullet with our family's crest on it. A testament to the code. But Allison was different. She was making a silver arrowhead."

Isaac's head perked up as something occurred to him, "Where is it? The arrowhead?"

Chris was confused, but answered anyway, "Downstairs."

He stood up, "I need to see it."

"Why?" Nuala asked him.

"Because I have a feeling it isn't there."

* * *

Melissa was screaming in pain as Rafael tried to tend to her wound. "What the hell is that?" he yelled, seeing black goo easing from the wound with her blood.

"I think it's poisonous," she groaned. "It hurts like hell."

"Melissa!" they started when they heard a man's voice.

Melissa cried out slightly in relief, "Gavin! Gavin, we're in here!"

"Hang on, darling," his Scottish brogue called out to her through the elevator doors. "This thing is stuck, but I'm gonna get you out of there. Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"Yes, she is!" Rafael yelled back. "We need to get out of here now!"

"We're on it," he called back.

Rafael looked at Melissa, "Who's we?"

Melissa shrugged, "He's got friends in strange places."

* * *

Scott just finished up with Derek on his cell phone and put it away, "Derek's got the triskele box. He's gonna meet us."

Lydia felt faint as she heard distant whispering, almost falling over if Jessie hadn't caught her, "You okay?"

She shook her head, "Somethings' happening. I had this sudden rushing feeling, like we're running out of time."

"Yeah," Stiles' voice suddenly cut in. Everyone turned to see Kira and Georgie walking him in. He looked distinctly weaker and pale, sunken in cheeks and deep bruises under his eyes. "Yeah, I kind of got that feeling too."

* * *

Nuala and Dechtire watched as Chris and Isaac peered at the silver arrowheads laid out in the Argent storage space. Chris asked, "Why would she make four of these?"

"She made five," Isaac corrected him. "She made the first one, then she figured it out. She used the first silver arrowhead to kill one of the Oni. We saw her do it. The same way you almost did. Do you remember when you told us about one of your first gun deals, the Yakuza?"

"That meeting wasn't one of my first deals," Chris corrected. "It  _was_  my first deal."

"The bullet that you used to shoot the Oni," Isaac referenced. "Was that a silver bullet?"

"Yes," Chris answered. "But it didn't kill him. It just broke his mask."

"Probably went straight through," Isaac realized. "What if silver is like a poison to them? What if it needs to stay in the body?"

"That could have been what Allison was trying to tell Scott," Nuala caught on. "She figured it out."

"These four would still have been setting when she went off to meet Scott," Chris added.

"We can stop them all," Dechtire grinned.

"No," Chris growled, holding up one of the arrows. "We can kill them."

* * *

The Sheriff's station was all dark as the Sheriff held his wounded arm in pain behind a desk. A noise off to his side startled him into drawing his gun. He relaxed when he saw it was just his deputy, Parrish. The younger man was panting slightly, holding his stomach in pain as blood seeped through his shirt, "What the hell happened? They left. They just... left. Why did they let us live?"

The Sheriff groaned as he noticed black smoke rising out of their wounds, "I'm not so sure they did."

* * *

Georgie opted to drive the jeep with Stiles resting in the passenger's seat while Scott, Jessie, Lydia, and Kira squished together in the middle. She haphazardly pulled over in front of the school and rushed around to help Stiles out of the car, but Scott was already there. She quickly slipped herself under his arm, so she could support him while the group rushed the front doors of the group.

As Scott and Jessie prepared to push open the doors, Stiles called out, "Scott, hold on," making them stop and turn back to look at him. He tried his best not to lean too heavily on Georgie as he spoke, "I know what you're all thinking. If this works, it might kill me, too. But even if it does, you have to go through with it. Stick with the plan, okay?"

Georgie felt torn between her need to honor his wishes, and her own wishes to not lose her boyfriend. She leaned back into him, "Letting you die isn't the plan."

"She's right," Scott agreed with her vehemently. "The plan is to save you."

"That's the plan we're going with," Jessie added, her eyes starting to glow cobalt blue again as she let her power flow through her.

Scott turned back to push the blue doors open, leading the whole group inside, ready to take on whatever was on the other side. But everyone gaped and looked around in confused awe at the scene in front of them. Instead of the high school hallway, they walked into some sort of Japanese garden, covered in snow that was still falling down to the ground around them.

"Oh, this is definitely not part of the plan," Stiles breathed, holding Georgie closer to his side as they shivered in the cold.

* * *

"Where the Hell is your boyfriend?" Rafael cursed as his phone dialed out for the third time.

Melissa felt drowsy, blackness closing around her vision, "Call Scott. You need to call Scott."

"You're gonna be all right," Rafael assured her, kneeling by her side.

"That's not what I mean," she wheezed, still in pain. "If something happens, you need to work it out with Scott."

"Melissa..." Rafael scolded her. "You're gonna be fine."

"You just need to try again," she insisted.

"I tried to apologize," he told her.

"He's a teenage boy," she pointed out, her eyes heavily lidded. "He doesn't care about apologies. He wants you to do better. And he probably wants you to suffer a little. Promise me you'll make it work."

He sighed finally, "Okay."

Suddenly, the elevator doors opened up, revealing injured, dying, and crying people. A deep Irish voice cut off whatever either of them were going to say next as Gavin rushed in, "Melissa! Let's get you patched up, dear."

Rafael just watched as the man pulled her into his arms and carried her off to help.

* * *

The Nogitsune in the form of a stronger looking Stiles, lounged on the outdoor High School steps with two of his new Japanese bodyguards lurking menacingly behind him.

Derek kept one of his hands clamped on the round wooden box that used to house his mother's claws, ready and willing to take this demon out once and for all for all the grief he had caused. Aidan and Ethan flanked his sides, all their eyes glowing bright blue.

The Nogitsune smirked at him, "Did you bring us a present?"

Derek slammed the box onto the ground, "I brought two," as the twins let out growls and all let their faces morph into their wolf sides.

The demon didn't seem the least bit intimidated, still smirking and slightly chuckling, "I've heard of an Alpha pack, Derek, but not a pack of former Alphas. It's a little sad, isn't it?"

"I might not be an Alpha anymore," Derek shrugged, "but I can still fight like one." He reared his head back as he and the twins all let out loud wolf roars, the Oni behind Dark Stiles answering with complicated waves of their swords.

* * *

The group stuck in the strange, snow littered garden, were just getting their bearings when they heard low growling. Georgie clutched the front of Stiles' shirt and Scott slipped his hand into Jessie's with Kira and Lydia standing in between the pairs. The looked back at the entrance to see the original form of the Nogitsune, leather jacket and dirty gauze covered form, stalking in. It's low, graveling voice reached them, "Like I promised, Stiles. We're going to kill all of them. One by one."

Stiles kept an arm around Georgie's shoulders tightly, trying to keep his weak voice from faltering, "What the hell is this? Where are we?"

"Between life and death," It hissed.

"Bardo," Lydia realized.

"But there are no peaceful deities here, Lydia," the Nogitsune mocked her. It took two steps closer to the group, tilting its face towards Stiles. There were no eyes to tell them where it was looking, or who it was looking at, which make this form all the more menacing. "You're dying, Stiles. And now, everyone you care about is dying, too."

Stiles pulled Georgie closer and let out a shuddering breath, "What? What do you mean?"

The Nogitsune let out a slow, clipped laugh, "I've captured almost all of the territories on the board, Stiles. The hospital. The Sheriff's station. And now the animal clinic."

This caught Scott and Jessie's attention, knowing Deaton, the Sheriff, and Melissa were obvious targets. Jessie clenched Scott's hand so hard that if he were human, his hand would be broken. But he closed his fingers around hers and slightly pulled her closer, hoping that they truly would find a way around all of this. Save his mom, save his best friend's dad, and his prime father figure.

"Do you know the ritual of seppuku, Stiles?" the Nogitsune asked.

"No, and I don't want to," Stiles shot back at him.

"It's honorable suicide," Jessie spoke softly, consciously standing at Scott's side instead of slightly behind him like Kira was standing slightly behind her.

"When a samurai disembowels himself with his own sword to maintain his honor," the Nogitsune illustrated, its voice scratchy, "but that's not the cut that kills him. The killing stroke is made by his kaishakunin, who beheads the samurai with his own katana." The demon tilted its head towards Scott, "Scott... Scott is your kaishakunin."

It marched just a bit closer, so close that they could all hear its heavy breaths, "I'm going to make your best friend kill you, Stiles. And you're going to let him. Because just like you, they're all going to die. Everyone touched by an Oni's blade. Unless Scott kills you first."

Stiles' bottom lip quivered, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

The Nogitsune's answer came out in an echoing growl, "To win the game."

With his words, the Oni took their cue to strike. Kira, taken over by her supernatural instincts as she ripped her own sword out to block the Oni strike towards Jessie and Scott. Jessie's eyes glowed even more luminescent than ever, letting her hand drop from Scott's as his claws came out. They were ready to fight like hell to save Stiles and the rest of their pack.

* * *

Alec Stilinski let his head hit the desk behind him as he slumped against it on the ground, trying to ignore the pain emanating from the slice on his arm, that was still oozing black smoke and blood. His head fell to the side, so he could look at his Deputy, seeing the young man's eyes closing. "Parrish keep your eyes open." Parrish's eyes continued to close, his head lulling down. The Sheriff yelled, "Deputy!" to startled him back to the land of the living.

It worked enough to engage him back into conversation, "What is this?" lifting his shirt to peer at his own black smoke wound in his torso, "Is this poison?"

"Whatever it is," Alec groaned, "it's working fast."

* * *

"Hang in there, love," Gavin stroked Melissa's hair back. "I'm going to go get Connor right now. He'll be able to tide you over until the other thing gets sorted."

As he disappeared around the corner, Melissa let her head loll over to look up a misty-eyed ex-husband of hers, "Don't leave him again. Promise me?"

"You told me to leave," he pointed out to her, slightly spiteful.

"I told a drunk to get out of the house," she corrected history. "I didn't tell his father to get out of his life. You came back to make it up to him, right?"

He nodded, "I came back to make it up to both of you."

* * *

Georgie flinched as she and Lydia crouched behind some tree like bushes in front of Stiles. Kira was engrossed in a vicious sword fight with one Oni while Jessie danced around two of the Oni. Scott took on another Oni, mostly on his own, but Jessie flitted between the two of them to try and help. Georgie and Lydia cringed as they watched Jessie get her arms around one of the Oni's neck and twist around, cracking the back of the Oni's neck over her shoulder behind her, holding it there with her strength for a moment.

"How is this happening?" Scott asked as he slashed at the Oni's torso. "How are we in this place?"

"You're asking us?" Kira shouted as she parried. "A month ago, I'd never even touched a sword."

Jessie let out a slight cry as Kira's Oni swiped at her, causing her to let go of her Oni so that it could attack Scott back.

* * *

Derek and the twins were engaged in their own vicious battle outside, sharing two Oni between the three of them. "Where the Hell are they?" Aidan shouted through his fangs.

"The jeep's here," Derek told them as he fought. "They have to be somewhere."

"In the school!" Ethan yelled.

* * *

"This can't be real," Lydia squealed from behind Stiles and Georgie. Georgie was feeling powerless during the fight until she realized, she was anything but. She gently nudged Stiles towards Lydia so she could prop him up while the witch broke through the bushes into the fighting. One of the Oni zeroed in on her and raised its sword to strike.

"Georgie!" Stiles shouted, trying to lunge forward and do something – anything – to protect her.

But she raised her hands, palms pointing outward and yelled, "Duck!" letting smoke pour out of her skin, enveloping the whole area.

Jessie and Scott clung to one another on the snow-covered ground as the smoke completely overtook their senses. It rushed over them, gliding over their skin like pin pricks, with a heat just bearable for them to endure. Kira kept her sword close to her side as she crouched on the ground and shut her eyes as tight as she could to block out the molten darkness.

Georgie let out a small cry as she pushed all the power she could into her hands, letting her anger and love force her movements. She felt a scorching heat suddenly erupt from her hands, the kind she had never felt before. The heat she felt form her smoke powers felt hollow and empty. This heat felt completely different – like a warm embrace and red-hot fiery passion. It started the moment she focused on what she was protecting – Stiles. Her boyfriend, her partner, her love. She could not let everything they'd been through go without the reward of getting to truly be together and enjoy their time. She had to save him, and save her friends, and her family.

The color of the smoke began to fade and grow more dark, black, all encompassing. Until there was a flicker of true color in it. Orange and red began to swirl around the room, the snow melting into puddles and cries echoing through the wind. Fire, for the first time, mixed with the smoke. She had never formed fire before, but knew it was inside her family line. It was finally coming out.

But then, it started to spark out, just as the others were ducking from the pain of the flames. The fire was dying, and the smoke was winding out, until there was nothing left inside her. From the sheer effort of her power, she fell forward onto her hands and knees, practically gasping for air. She hard Stiles call her name and crawl on the ground with her, his hands splashing in the now-water. She took a few deeps breaths as Lydia stepped over to her and started to pull her up.

Scott, Jessie and Kira stood up, looking around to see that the four Oni and the Nogitsune were gone. Kira looked between them, "Is it over? Are they  _gone_ -gone?"

Before anyone could answer and before Georgie could get onto her feet, the Oni appeared in puffs of smoke and surrounded them. One appeared right by the witch and swished its sword in the air before piercing it through her back, the tip clanging into the ground.

Stiles let out a shocked and angry shout, "NO!" and quickly stood up to fight the Oni, but Kira quickly intervened with her own sword and fought it off once it ripped its blade from Georgie's body.

Georgie gasped and grunted in pain as she fell to the floor on her stomach. The pain was excruciating, and she felt as if she had no strength to get up on her elbows. She could just lay there until she felt Stiles and Lydia lifting her up. In her blurry vision, she could see Scott, Kira and Jessie engaged in battle again.

* * *

Derek growled animalistically as he swiped and jabbed at the Oni around him, seeing the triskele box left unaware on the ground. "You have to get on the box. Someone get on the box!"

Aidan went to do just that but stopped short when two of the Oni materialized around the box. "I hate ninjas." He rushed forward to fight them, viciously. But they attacked back just as viciously.

* * *

Kira cried out as one of the Oni swiped her sword out of her grip, the metal clambering onto the ground. Stiles' eyes caught the glint of the metal, dragging his attention away from Georgie just as he and Lydia leaned her against them on her feet. Keeping an eye on the fight and on the sword, he ducked down to grab hold of the weapon and then stepped away from Georgie and Lydia. He turned the blade onto his gut and held it there, his hand shaking as he hesitated to plunge it into his body.

"No, Stiles, don't!" Georgie cried out, flinching in pain.

Everyone else froze, turning their eyes onto the desperate and hopeless boy.

Jessie and Scott rushed forward, both of their eyes glowing their respective colors, Scott's face completely transformed. He gasped, "Stiles!"

Stiles was still shaking, "What if it saves you? What if it saves all of you?" his eyes glancing from Scott and Jessie to Georgie leaning heavily on Lydia. He saw tears filling her eyes as black smoke began to ooze out of her wound.

"What if it's just another trick?" Jessie asked him.

"No more tricks, Jessica," the leather clad Nogitsune rumbled behind them. "End it, Scott. Let your friend fall on his sword. Do for him what he cannot do for himself. Do it, Scott."

Scott's shoulders sagged as he stared at how hopeless Stiles looked.

"Be his kaishakunin," the Nogitsune goaded. "Give up the game. You have no moves left."

Stiles eyes glanced over at Georgie when she let out a sudden gasp in pain, clutching her stomach and doubling over in Lydia's arms. As she moved, he saw just beyond her, a textbook in the water. There was an Introduction to Business textbook on the ground, and a desk just beyond it. He felt his epiphany hit him and turned the sword away from himself, grabbing Georgie from Lydia's arms, "I do. A divine move."

* * *

"We can't do this, we can't beat them!" Ethan growled as they all fought.

"Take the box!" Derek ordered. "We'll hold them off!"

As Aidan was losing his wind fighting off an Oni, it suddenly froze as an arrow pierced its chest, green yellow glow started to emanate from the puncture. The Oni seized up and ripped the arrow from itself, but it was too late. It was gone, just as the one Allison killed was gone.

The wolves turned to see Chris on the step above them with a crossbow in hand.

"What was that?" Aidan asked, fangs still out.

"Silver," Chris answered grimly.

Isaac lept from the perch next to Chris, flipping in the air before landing on his feet and hand.

"Isaac, the box," Derek pointed it out. "Get the triskele box to Scott!"

* * *

"Stop fighting them," Stiles told his friends and he held Georgie to his side. "It's an illusion. You have to stop fighting them. It looks real and it feels real, but Scott, you gotta trust me." He locked eyes with the werewolf, "It's an illusion."

Scott and Jessie shared a look, silently communicating on whether or not to go with his theory or not. Ultimately, they locked hands and began walking back out the way they came, towards the gauze covered Nogitsune. It growled low in its throat, and the Oni around flanking their sides lifted their swords and slashed at them.

Blood spurted out of Scott's chest as he cried out. One of the Oni sliced across Jessie's back, causing her to grunt and clench Scott's hand tighter. They kept walking, hearing Kira cry out behind them as she was struck too. When Scott broke passed them, he growled loudly at the Nogitsune and pushed into its chest, shoving it through the doors behind it.

The group clambered into the school hallway, no sign of the Japanese garden covered in snow and water.

* * *

Chris shot another arrow towards the last Oni, but it sliced its sword through the air, cutting the arrow in half. "Get the arrow!" the hunter shouted. "It's the last one."

Aidan rushed forward to grab the part of the wood with the silver arrowhead on it, slashing and dodging the Oni. He was just able to jab the arrow into its chest, but not before it stabbed him through with its sword. He gasped in pain as the Oni disappeared, leaving its sword deeply embedded in his body. His glowing blue eyes flickered to dull color as blood leaked out of his mouth. He heard his brother call out his name as he slowly pulled the sword from his stomach and let it clang onto the ground under his feet.

* * *

Georgie felt like a second wind hit her, her wound suddenly not there anymore. She straightened up in Stiles arms, seeing his relief as he looked back at her. Scott, Jessie and Kira all looked at their bodies to see their wounds were gone too. Scott let out a breath, "We're okay. We're-"

He was cut off when Dark Stiles appeared behind them and threw him into the lockers. He knocked out Kira next. Jessie quickly turned around and guarded Stiles, Lydia and Georgie with her body, "You!"

"This was my game," he sneered. "You think you can beat me at my game?"

Georgie and Lydia supported Stiles as Jessie kept strong in front of them. "Yes, I think we can. I think we will. You chose the wrong people to mess with."

"Divine move," he quickly approached them. "Divine move!" As he quickly chased after them, they all rapidly walked backwards away from him. "You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the Oni. But me? Me!? I'm a thousand years old. You can't kill me."

"We can change you!" Georgie shouted, panting slightly as they all stopped down the hallway.

He stopped with them, "What?"

"You forgot about the scroll," Stiles told him.

"The Shugendo scroll," Lydia added slowly.

"Change the host," the Nogitsune whispered.

Jessie let her eyes glow brightly cobalt, her hand moving in a blur of movement until it clasped around the Nogitsune's throat. He choked and struggled of course. But as her eyes glowed brighter and brighter, her hand closed tighter around his neck.

"You can't be a fox and a wolf," Stiles murmured.

Scott came up behind him, clamping a claw onto his shoulder and growling as he bit into the Nogitsune's arm as the demon let out a loud, raspy cry, his air being cut off by Jessie's grip. Jessie started clamping so tightly around his throat, that her nails dug into his skin and black red blood dripped down into the collar of his shirt. Kira came up behind him and stabbed her sword through his back, the blade coming out clear on the other side. As Scott and Kira let go of him, Jessie only gripped tighter, glaring at him with deadly anger. "Checkmate."

She let go of his throat, watching his cough out a fly. The whole group watched it fly through the air away from them, down the hallway. Jessie was about to go after it. But Isaac and Nuala were there with the triskele box. Isaac held the box and lid open until he closed the box around the fly and trapping it. He looked up, his eyes locking on Jessie's, everyone letting out a sigh of relief.

The Nogitsune was still seizing on his knees until he froze, the whole group watching as his skin crackled and faded to gray. His body fell forward, disappearing into dust upon impact with the tile floor. Jessie lifted her eyes up from the floor, catching Scott's. She slowly stepped towards him as he smiled at her.

Georgie let a smile stretch her cheeks as she cuddled into Stile's side. But she frowned when his weight became dead weight on her as he fell over. She knelt down with him, catching his upper body as they went down to the ground. "Stiles?"

Stiles could barely hear her as it all went black.

* * *

Stiles groaned as the pressure in his head receded and he blinked, seeing the faces of his friends surrounding him. Georgie's was upside down, right above him. His head was resting on her lap. He cringed, "Oh, God, I fainted, didn't I?"

The group let out a collective relieved chuckle, nodding.

"We're alive," he observed, looking up at Georgie. "We all alive?"

"Yeah," she nodded, stroking his cheek. "Yeah, we are. It's over."

Lydia felt a cold chill of dread run over her, telling her that it definitely wasn't over. She ignored the curious glances of her friends as she stood up and started running out the door.

* * *

Aidan shook in pain and misery as Derek held him up in a sitting position on the ground. Chris and Dechtire stood to his side as Ethan crouched next to him, openly crying in pain and grief. Aidan looked over at him, his voice quaking, "Does it hurt you as much as it hurts me?"

"Yeah," Ethan let out a shuddering breath.

Aidan whimpered, trying hard to hold on, "It's okay. Lydia never believed I was one of the good guys anyway." The brothers shared a chuckle, breaking the levity of the situation.

"She'll believe me," Derek swore to him, gripping his hand and trying to take away his pain as much as he could bear.

Aidan let out another whimper, Ethan crouching closer to his brother, "Shh," trying to comfort him and hold him close. Slowly, Aidan's body felt heavier and his eyes started to close. Ethan only cried more as his twin finally faded away, laying him on his back.

Lydia broke through the doors, them banging on the wall behind her as she raced out. When she got to the stairs, she stopped at the sight of Ethan laying his brother down. She couldn't even gasp out. She twisted around on her toes and ran back, crashing into the first body – which was Jessie, who held her close and tried to comfort her friend, her blue eyes finally fading off into her human brown eyes, filled with tears.

* * *

Scott sat at his kitchen table in a trance, just staring at the wood. Until his mother came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He let himself feel his grief and pain finally. Finally having a moment of respite from the Nogitsune fight. His head fell onto her arm as the tears dripped down from his face, his shoulders shaking as his mother held him closer.

* * *

Jessie curled into a small ball on her bed at the loft. She heard Connor calling up the spiral staircase for her. But she didn't answer, continuing to cry into her pillow. She could hear his steps coming up the stairs and saw out of the corner of her eye that he paused at the entry way into her room. Ultimately, he stepped inside and crawled onto the bed behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. "It'll get better, lass. I promise."

She sniffled and curled into his shoulder, letting him comfort her as she cried for the people she'd lost and the time she'd lost herself.

* * *

Isaac carefully packed the triskele box into his bag and then heaved it over his shoulder as he waited in the hallway for Chris to come walking out of his apartment. Just as Chris closed the door and locked it for the final time, Isaac looked over and saw Nuala at the end of the hall, no fight in her. The teens shared a look of understanding. He walked over to her, letting his bag fall to the ground before he wrapped his arms around her. He felt her smaller arms close around his back. He felt guilty for effectively leaving her behind. She was the first girl who showed him that he could move on from Jessie. But he couldn't handle the life Beacon Hills dealt out to him anymore. He needed to get away. And she didn't fight him on it, understanding that this life wasn't for everyone and didn't have to be forever.

When the let go of each other, he leaned down to press his lips to hers. She slowly reciprocated, moving with him. They could have this moment together, and then part ways. Maybe they'd run into each other again, somewhere out there in the world. And then again, maybe they wouldn't. They could be all right with that and move on as they'd proven they could. They could take this moment with them as they moved forward.

He and Chris were just exiting the apartment building when they noticed a familiar car parked out front, with a familiar girl leaning against the door of it. Chris gave the vampire a slight smile and nodded to Isaac to talk to her while he loaded their things into his car.

Isaac walked slowly as he approached Jessie. "Hi. I didn't think I'd see you before we left."

"Nuala told me, so I came," Jessie said, sounding less like a robot now that she had her emotions back. "Are you sure about this?"

Slowly, he nodded his head, "I know the timing is bad. I wanted to be here for you, now that you're back. But I think I need this."

"We'll see each other again, Isaac, don't worry about me," she said softly.

"I hope so," he said, taking her hand and pulling her into a tight hug. "I missed you – I'm going to miss you. I just... I still... I still love you, Jessie. You know that, right?"

Jessie looked up at him with a small smile, "I'm always going to love you, Isaac. And I have no regrets. And I'm always going to be here for you."

He nodded, "Me too. If you ever need me, you know how to get in touch with me."

She cupped his cheek lightly and kissed the other one, "Au revoir, Isaac Lahey."

He lightly smirked with humor as they pulled away from each other, "Au revoir, Jessie Hansen."

* * *

Kira sighed and leaned against the locker next to Lydia's, "I wish I could say something to you. I wish I could say something to all of them. But I don't know how much space or how much time I'm supposed to give you all. And I know I'm just the new girl at school."

Lydia caught wind of Coach's voice as he led Malia Tate through the hall, "You ever run track? I mean, you have excellent muscle definition."

"Not for long," Lydia whispered to Kira as the girl walked passed them, sharing a small smile with her.

* * *

Georgie stood in the middle of her home, over run with plant life. She took a deep breath and held her hand out, palm up to the sky. She closed her eyes and concentrated, not pushing herself too much. She let out a slight gasp as she felt heat radiate from her palm. She opened her eyes, seeing the small flicker of flame erupt from her skin.

* * *

Stiles rapidly moved around his walls, taking down the red yarn and ripping articles, papers and photos down and tossing them into a trash bag.

"Hey," his father's voice interrupted him. He turned to see his dad standing in the doorway, "What're you doing?"

"Just, uh, clearing my head," he told him, getting a nod before he went back to work.

* * *

Scott was working in the back room of the vet's office when Deaton walked in and asked him, "Have you ever heard the term 'regression to the mean'?"

Scott looked up curiously, "No."

Deaton folded his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the metal table on the wall, "It's a bit of a technical way of saying things will always even out."

"Like things will always get better?" Scott asked.

"More like things can't always be bad," Deaton explained wisely.

Scott nodded slowly as he caught on to what his boss was trying to convey to him, "So, no matter how bad things get..."

"Or how good," Deaton slipped in.

"They always come back to the middle."

Deaton nodded, "Regression to the mean."

Scott gave a small smile, "I'm not so sure that applies to a town like this."

Deaton chuckled, "Yes. You might be right."

* * *

Scott's ears perked up when he heard a car park in front of his house, and then the next second a knock at his front door. He knew it wasn't Gavin or Stiles – he knew who it was. Seeing Jessie, alive, well and herself, on the other side of the door, was a refreshing sight. She gave him a small smile, "Good morning, Scott."

"Hey," he smiled at her, opening the door wide for her to come in. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling," she told him. "And that's good enough."

"I'm really glad you're back," he stepped closer to her as they entered the kitchen. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she whispered softly.

He reached forward and clasped her hand in his. She looked up into his eyes, just looking into them as he held her hand. Neither of them knew what would happen next. What the next big fight would be or even what the future held for them. But they didn't need to sit down and figure it all out right at that moment. They just needed to let themselves have the time to grieve, process and absorb all that had happened to them and between them. The rest would figure itself out.

* * *

Jessie tossed and turned in her bed, her eyes moving rapidly behind her eyelids. Her breaths were drawn out of her chest in short gasps of air, coming out frosted as if the air was chilled to ice. He hands clutched the sheets entangled with her legs as her mind was lost in her past.

_She was gasping on the floor, seeing her cousin Nick unconscious just a few feet from her. The whole world felt frozen over to her after the Oni came for her. She felt as if she couldn't move and the world was about to fade away._

_Behind her, heels clicked on the hardwood floors. Her eyes strained to look, the scene canted as a woman with long blonde hair walked passed her to the front door. As she passed, smirk on her face, her face contorted and snarled and changed into a gray hag – skin decayed and eyes absent of iris or pupil, ghostly white, and teeth rotten. As quickly as it had faded in, it faded out, and her face was beautiful again as she disappeared from view._

_"I'll be seeing you, Jessica," the woman crooned as she left._

Jessie let out a choked gasp as her eyes opened, pushing her face into the pillow. She heard Connor call her name as he ran up the stairs and clambered on the bed to cradle her closely, like a brother. She writhed and screamed and fought limply as he held her.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she finally calmed down. "What was it?"

"It was her," Jessie whimpered. "It was Hilda."


End file.
